2016 Spring Essay Contest Rules

The theme of the contest is ‘Chinese Room and Lee Sedol’. The information is as follows:

AlphaGo shocked the world by beating Lee Sedol, 4-1 in Go (바둑). Although AlphaGo is an AI, it was programmed by humans and a human places the stones. This is similar to a famous thought experiment called “The Chinese Room,” created by the philosopher John Searle.

The Chinese Room is this: a man is in a room and he has some books of rules. There is also a small hole in the wall through which people can pass notes. He speaks no Chinese. He can, however, read the books and copy symbols. These books tell him how to respond to any note.

To the man inside the room these notes have no meaning; they are just lines on the paper. However, a Chinese speaker outside the room can write any question and get an answer, in Chinese. Although the man in the room doesn’t speak Chinese on his own, a Chinese person exchanging notes with him may feel that he can.

Question 

Is John Searle correct to argue that a highly effective gaming AI, such as AlphaGo, does not understand, or enjoy, the game it plays?

Prizes

1st Prize: Smart Watch

2nd Prize: Bluetooth Earphone

3rd Prize: Digital Frame

Essay Guidance
1. Read the question above.

2. Write an English essay that answers this question.

3. Support your arguments with data or other evidence.

4. Your essay must be entirely your own work; when you quote or refer to other people’s words or ideas, you must properly credit the source.

5. Submit your file in an easily readable file format. (.docx is recommended.)

6. Submit your completed essay to this site:  Visit http://www.turnitin.com/  and create account(Student). (Class ID: 12546204, Password: lec2016). And then, click ‘2016 Spring LEC Essay Contest’ and click ‘submit’ button. Set 'Single File Upload' (not Cut & Paste Upload) and upload your file. Finally click 'Confirm'. (You can submit your essay file only ONCE)    

7. Students seeking guidance or help are encouraged to do so through the English Clinic. Getting help in planning, critique, asking questions and making improvements are all acceptable. English instructors will not provide editing or proofreading.

8. Your deadline is:  2016 May 9th(Monday) 11:59pm  (late submissions will not be accepted).

Essay Rules        

1. Only currently enrolled GIST students may enter (undergraduate or graduate students).

2. Your essay should be 750-1000 words.

3. Students should not include their names in their entry, but should use their student number as their file title (e.g. 2015549.docx)

4. Essays must be original work which has not been published before, or submitted as homework in any course.

5. Any entrants who plagiarize will be disqualified from this, and future contests. Submissions will be checked thoroughly for plagiarism, so check your work before submission.

6. If they write a submission for this contest, students accept responsibility to adhere to the rules of this contest, including submission deadlines, file format, and all other deadlines. The Language Education Center is not responsible to judge or assist with late submissions, improperly formatted submissions, or any other rules violations.

If you have a question about it, feel free to ask us. :)

Language Education Center

Collge B - 102

062-715-3702