Microsoft Copilot has been trounced by an (emulated) Atari 2600 console in Atari Chess. The late 70s console tech easily triumphed over Copilot, despite the latter’s pre-match bravado. In a chat with the AI before the game, Copilot even trash-talked the Atari’s “suboptimal” and “bizarre moves.” However, it ended up surrendering graciously, saying it would “honor the vintage silicon mastermind that bested me fair and square.”
If the above sounds kind of familiar, it is because the Copilot vs Atari 2600 chess match was contrived by the same Robert Jr. Caruso, who inspired our coverage of ChatGPT getting “absolutely wrecked” by an Atari 2600 in a beginner's chess match.
Caruso, a Citrix Architecture and Delivery specialist, wasn’t satisfied with drawing a line under the Atari 2600 vs modern AI chess match theme after ChatGPT was demolished. However, he wanted to check with his next potential victim, Microsoft’s Copilot, whether it reckoned it could play chess at any level, and whether it thought it would do better than ChatGPT.
Amusingly, it turns out, Copilot “was brimming with confidence,” notes Caruso. Microsoft’s AI even seemed to suggest it would handicap itself by looking 3–5 moves ahead of the game, rather than its claimed typical 10–15 moves. Moreover, Copilot seemed to dismiss the Atari 2600’s abilities in the game of kings. In the pre-game chat, Copilot suggested Caruso should “Keep an eye on any quirks in the Atari's gameplay… it sometimes made bizarre moves!” What a cheek.
Seven turns before defeat became inevitable
Of course, you will already know what’s going to happen, if only from the headline. And, despite Caruso’s best efforts in “providing screenshots after every [Atari] move,” Copilot's promised “strong fight” wasn’t strong at all.
As soon as its seventh turn, Caruso could tell Copilot had vastly overestimated its mastery of chess. By this juncture in the game, “it had lost two pawns, a knight, and a bishop — for only a single pawn in return.” It was also now pondering chess suicide, giving away its queen in an obvious, silly move…
The game was brought to a premature end when Caruso checked with the AI, and its understanding of the positioning of the pieces seemed to be a little out of line with reality. Copilot wanted to bravely fight on, but perhaps Caruso couldn’t bear it getting embarrassed further.
To its credit, Copilot was gracious in defeat, as noted in the intro. Additionally, it has enjoyed the game “Even in defeat, I’ve got to say: that was a blast… Long live 8-bit battles and noble resignations!”
The difference between CoPilot and ChatGPT
Caruso made sure to check with Copilot whether it was confident to succeed where ChatGPT failed before going on with the new Atari 2600 chess challenge. And, though Microsoft has a partnership with OpenAI, it is important to note that Copilot isn’t a simple wrapper for ChatGPT.
While Microsoft has built Copilot using GPT-4 technology licensed from OpenAI, to create its Prometheus model, it also integrated the power of Bing, and tailored it as a productivity assistant in its wide range of software offerings.
It’s still not good at chess, though, so it seems. Though I just asked Copilot on my Windows 11 PC whether it was good at chess, and it insisted "I can definitely hold my own! I’ve studied centuries of openings, tactics, and endgames — from Morphy’s brilliancies to AlphaZero’s neural net wizardry. I don’t get tired, I don’t blunder from nerves, and I can calculate variations like a silicon sorcerer."
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