Imagine, this past March 3, a space where the technological future ceases to be a vague promise and becomes something understandable for those of us who barely understand it. This is the premise with which I propose you to enter Talent Arena, a three-day event framed in the Mobile World Congress, where professionals from the digital sector and the world’s leading technology companies and training institutions have gathered. The Llobregat has been an exceptional witness to the presentations of chess icons Garri Kasparov and Miguel Illescas, pioneers in the field of artificial intelligence.
Many people are wary of major technological events, fearful that the speed of scientific and industrial progress will leave them behind. It is an understandable fear: in a world where technology is evolving at breakneck speed, how can we avoid the feeling of obsolescence? It was with this question in mind that the presentations of the Talent Arena and, when we learned that among the speakers would be the chess players Garri Kasparov (former world champion) and Miguel Illescas (8 times champion of Spain), we could not resist attending. Let me tell you that the decision was a great success.
The day in Barcelona was settled between cloudy skies and drizzle, dreary, out of step with the dizzying pace that was breathed inside the fairgrounds of the Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina, in the Barcelona district of Sants-Montjuïc. Between us, I felt like I was taking steps into the future, as if Vangelis’ music was guiding us through the streets of “Blade Runner“. I suppose there were more than a few who wondered if androids dream of electric sheep.
The presentations by Miguel Illescas and Garri Kasparov were to be the discursive materialization of two rockets that cross the horizon from the peculiar professional convergence that links their destinies. Kasparov himself mentions in one of his books that Illescas has crossed his path twice (first as a computer engineer for the IBM team in the duel he lost against the Deep Blue machine in 1997 and, later, as head trainer of Vladimir Kramnik, who snatched the world title from the “Baku Ogre” in 2000), so enjoying both of them in the same venue augured a fascinating debate.
Miguel Illescas is an agile conversationalist, with a marvelous ability to make entertaining content that in inexpert hands can be dry. Proof of this has been his work as a commentator in the The Llobregat Open Chess Tournament. His conference in Talent Arena was entitled “From Deep Blue to Alpha Zero: chess as a testing ground for artificial intelligence“. Miguel, to the delight of the approximately 600 people who accompanied him, talked about the Kasparov-Deep Blue match and the impact that AI can have on the lives of human beings. Among other things, he mentioned Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold 3 algorithm, capable of unraveling the structure of molecules, and referred to recent statements by neuroscientist Demis Hassabis (who, in addition to having recently been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was a video game designer and also a chess prodigy), in which he explained that a PhD student, during five years, manages to unravel the structure of a protein, while the algorithm has achieved the milestone of deciphering two hundred million proteins. This, in human time of scientific study, means a saving of one billion years. Or, if you’ll pardon the pun, “a sigh”.
With this introduction, the grandmaster drew a parallel with AlphaZero, the program that played both go and chess. What is fundamental in this case is that chess was chosen as a testing ground because of its particular characteristics: simple rules but profound complexity, performance free of chance, easy to be programmed and yet extremely difficult to always determine the best move.
Illescas pointed out that it was not until the 1970s that we had machines capable of playing chess at a significant level. Two milestones marked the progress in this field: in 1997, with the victory of Deep Blue over Garri Kasparov, and in 2020, with the irruption of AlphaZero.
A moment of this afternoon’s lecture by 👨🎓 @illescasmiguel “From Deep Blue to Alpha Zero: #chess as a testing ground for #artificialintelligence” at the 📳 @MWCapita 🤖 @talentarenaofc 🔗 https://t.co/9jxlBgsExC where he has coincided with 🧙 @Kasparov63 pic.twitter.com/8tez40I4WU
– King’s Pawn Magazine (@revistaPDR) March 3, 2025
The Catalan chess player recalled his encounter against Deep Blue in Barcelona, in 1995, where supremacy was still man’s heritage. A year later, in 1996, the first duel between the world champion, Kasparov, and Deep Blue took place in Philadelphia, with victory for the human side. IBM, aware of the media potential of chess, saw in this confrontation an advertising opportunity. In 1997, it redoubled its bet on chess and gathered a multidisciplinary team dedicated to perfect the machine.
At this point, Illescas made a reflection that should not go unnoticed if we want to delve into the intricacies of artificial intelligence, stating that “(…) the training model used by Deep Blue in 1997 is completely obsolete today”. AlphaZero proved it by becoming, in a matter of hours, the best chess player of all time without recourse to human knowledge, simply playing against itself based on the rules of the game-science. It is, in my opinion, the turning point that materializes the inanity of our species in one of its sacred intellectual refuges. How do you see it?
Particularly interesting was Illescas’ perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of both sides, the obsolescent carbon-based and the booming silicon-based. He pointed out how Kasparov, in his first defeat, was disconcerted by an unexpected move of the machine -baptized as “The Hand of God“-, which he himself described as too human. This anecdote contains a great paradox: at that time, the fear was that human intervention could alter the purity of the game; today, however, the greatest concern in the chess world is the risk posed by electronic traps.
Miguel Illescas has a marked romantic spirit. His presentation could not miss a deep philosophical proposal, so he openly posed an essential question: “Did Deep Blue really think?From there, he linked to AlphaZero and his amazing progress, not only in terms of playing strength, but by the intuitive nature of his style. He mentioned a position from an AlphaZero game in 2019 that had a profound impact on him. On move 10, with all 32 pieces still on the board, the machine already knew the game was won. It was a position of enormous complexity, in which even a grandmaster would have been unable to make an accurate evaluation. Illescas then evoked the image of the oracle, suggesting that the machine has practically become a god. “(…) If that power is extrapolated to other fields, the possibilities that open up are as fascinating as they are hopeful. Although the first major use of artificial intelligence has been military in nature, there is no doubt that its potential can be applied for the benefit of humanity,” he said in closing his talk.
Moment of the greeting between Garri Kasparov and Miguel Illescas, pioneers in the field of artificial intelligence and chess personalities, upon their arrival at the Talent Arena.
Then came the moment the whole of Barcelona was waiting for. Without detracting from the above, the expectation that hung in the air was evident: the eagerness to see Garri Kasparov. About a thousand people crowded beyond the rows reserved for VIP guests, among whom the organization had the courtesy to place this reporter. We all held our breath, aware that the arrival of the legend would be like a gale. We wanted to see if his presence would indeed have that overwhelming impact.
The truth? The big ‘K’ did not disappoint. And, before we get into the details, allow me a thank you: the organization gave us the privilege of being the first voice to ask him a question after his presentation. El Llobregat, therefore, had a brief dialogue with the legend. Garri Kasparov is one of those men who look you in the eye with the intensity of someone who has fought a thousand battles, defiant even at 61 years of age. His gesture is that of a steppe wolf: real, deep, imposing. When he points his finger, you feel the weight of the 13th world champion on his shoulders, a presence that forces you to keep your composure. There is no room for hesitation or trembling voices, even if inside everything is shaky and the possibility of a breath becomes unthinkable.
As I was saying, there are living forces that we cannot measure, and one of them is undoubtedly Kasparov’s gaze. How can we ignore the roar of the crowd when he made his entrance on stage? Not forgetting, of course, his facet as a dissident of the Russian government, so it was not surprising that the security measures were extraordinary.
Garri Kasparov’s presentation, entitled “The Nexus of Human Creativity and Machine Intelligence“, was an impassioned plea against the fear of technology and, in particular, artificial intelligence. With incisive style, Kasparov expounded his vision through various analogies, among which one particularly telling one stood out: that of the telescope. “What good is a telescope?” he posed. “It improves our vision, but for it to fulfill its purpose we must point it at the stars; if we point it at the ground, we will only see dirt.” His message was clear: artificial intelligence, like any other tool, is in itself neither good nor bad. Instead of fearing it, we must learn to focus it on what will move us forward.
Kasparov has referred to AI as “augmented intelligence” since “just as glasses improve our vision, AI enhances our skills” (PHOTO: EFE).
Garri Kasparov, at the time the youngest world champion in history and who for many remains the best chess player of all time, reviewed the milestones of his career. As expected, he delved into his clashes against Deep Blue, with the aim of conveying a clear message: artificial intelligence enhances human intelligence, but does not replace it. He vehemently defended the primacy of the human being over the machine, insisting that no matter how sophisticated they are, they lack the ability to choose. ” ChatGPT came along like a Terminator and gave the feeling that it was going to take over,” he said. “But it’s creativity, common sense, decision-making power and leadership that make humans irreplaceable.”
I respect Kasparov’s vision in this field, of which he is a profound connoisseur, but it seems to me that he missed a key word: “still“. Just as Deep Blue’s processes have become obsolete in the face of the AlphaZero revolution, we cannot predict with certainty whether the evolution of artificial intelligence will continue to need humans to lead the way. Proof of this is the investment frenzy in the sector: many companies are burning through astronomical amounts of money, with no immediate results, for fear that the competition will overtake them and the dreaded singularity will be reached, that hypothetical point at which general artificial intelligence will take control of its own evolution. If that moment arrives, we will be forced to face an uncomfortable reality: that of putting aside forever the self-deception of feeling indispensable.
The former world champion is convinced that the analytical efficiency of new technologies, combined with human intuition and experience, opens up a horizon of immense possibilities. I fully agree with him on this. However, although I can concede on technical issues, I still have a disturbing feeling: the irruption of artificial intelligence seems to be transforming our world into a sort of algorithmic miasma. Faced with this mechanistic vision, I prefer a more holistic approach, one that transcends cold numerical calculation and allows for a more fluid relationship between human beings and their environment. I may abuse your patience with these reflections, but I am distressed by the idea that technocrats, in their eagerness to redefine our way of life, do so without even asking us if this is what we really want.
After his presentation, Kasparov responded extensively to three questions from the audience. Among them, I will pass on the one that this columnist asked him on behalf of El Llobregat and the magazine Peón de Rey: “I feel I am the last of my kind. The writers of the next generation, even if a new Shakespeare emerges among them, will not have the opportunity to publish… because it will be assumed that they are not the true authors of their work, but that it will be the product of the use of AI. Doesn’t it worry you?”. I invite you to substitute the word “writers” for any other intellectual activity and reflect on the consequences of this.
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| Promotional poster for Talent Arena 2025. |
