UChicago “Fun” Essay

Prompt: You are on an expedition to found a colony on Mars, when from a nearby crater, a group of Martians suddenly emerges. They seem eager to communicate, but they’re the impatient kind and demand you represent the human race in one song, image, memory, proof, or other idea. What do you share with them to show that humanity is worth their time?

If given a chance, I would show the Martians game 6 of the 1997 chess match between World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov and IBM’s deep blue supercomputer. I would first preface the video by introducing the rules of chess with a physical chess board and accompanying display screens that demonstrate the components of this match, the players, and the game’s stakes.

 The game of chess is an excellent representation of humanity’s pursuits; it’s a timeless game of recreation, strategy, and mind games played by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. It can be played between two opponents of any ethnic background, gender, age, or belief (and indeed, played by computers and artificial intelligence). Easy access to the game of chess and its ability to unite humanity to appreciate it helps paint an egalitarian picture of human society. 

The rules of chess can be explained pictorially and demonstrated by moving the pieces on a physical or electronic board, bypassing language barriers and the risk of miscommunication. It can also stand wholly on its own rather than relying on existing knowledge of human society, culture, and norms. Learning about the rules of chess and the pieces on the board also demonstrates historical artifacts and information about human society. The pieces– the king, queen, knights, bishops, rooks, and pawns– represent a microcosm of a medieval agrarian society.  

• The King and Queen, essential pieces of the board, demonstrate a patriarchal feudal hierarchy, the gendered existence of humanity, and its reproduction process.
• The bishops highlight the importance of organized religion and theology.  
• The knights represent knight-errant culture and chivalry and its attached moral idealism. 
• The rooks (or towers) show the importance of strategic castles and sieges and their part in the human history of conquest and kingdoms.  
• The pawns, themselves the least valuable pieces at the start of the game, can transform into any pieces (excluding the king) by reaching the end of the board, illustrating possibilities of class mobility and achievement. 

Game 6 of the 1997 chess match is of particular interest as it is the second match between world champion Garry Kasparov and Deep Blue, with the World Champion having defeated Deep Blue 4-2 in a previous 1996 match. Garry Kasparov is one of the longest-reigning champions in chess history and a great ambassador for the sport, whereas Deep Blue is an example of the emergence of artificial intelligence in human society, a technological feat that no doubt will shape the course of human history with broad implications in philosophy, academia, and popular culture. It was made possible only through the preceding era’s developments in science and mathematics. In this game, Kasparov and Deep Blue are tied 2 ½ – 2 ½.

 Kasparov made the uncharacteristic move: Pawn to E6 on move eight, challenging Deep Blue to capture the pawn E6 with a Knight. Kasparov believed at the time that computers were calculating beings with no appreciation for the strategy and position involved in chess. Thus, they would not be interested in a move that lost material advantage for no appreciable gain. However, in the game’s deciding moment, Deep Blue accepted the challenge and captured, trading a knight for a pawn. This led to a position-based end game where Kasparov was forced to resign just nine moves later. The dramatic moment illustrates the first time an artificial intelligence defeated the best human player in a game of thought in human history. 

Having shown the Martians this game, I would invite them to play a game of chess. I believe this is a great conversation starter and diplomacy and could also help us understand each other’s ability to interpret complex problems and strategies and lead to deeper cultural connections. In addition, it provides a window for the Martians and us to understand each other’s tendencies and behaviors that few other methods could. The game of chess could also be played between humans and any alien race regardless of size, background, genetic makeup, or brain capacity. On top of that, it’s great fun, and I’m sure everyone needs a break from tensions after establishing first contact.