Let’s Play! Talks
Weiqi: Tradition and Transformation
Date: Saturday, 28 February 2026
Time: 2.30pm to 5.30pm
Venue: Ngee Ann Auditorium, Asian Civilisations Museum
This session is free.
Registration is required (with a $10 refundable deposit).
About the programme
Weiqi, also known as Go, is one of the world’s oldest strategy games. With over two millennia of history, it has shaped
intellectual traditions across China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. This programme explores how Weiqi evolved from a
classical cultural practice into a modern arena for artificial intelligence.
Session highlights
The Golden Age of Go: Innovations in Edo Japan
A look at the development of Go in Japan during the Edo period (1603 to 1868), when institutions, ranking systems, and
new schools of play helped transform the game into a refined cultural discipline.
Go in the AI Era: Thinking, Not Learning
As artificial intelligence excels at calculation, pattern recognition, and optimisation, this session examines what
remains uniquely human: judgement, reflection, and independent thought. Go becomes a lens for thinking deeply under
pressure and ambiguity.
Book launch and talk: The Go Code: Ancient Intelligence in the Age of AI (4.30pm to 5.30pm)
Note: This session will be conducted in Mandarin.
This talk explores Go as an abstract language of strategy and reasoning. Using AlphaGo as a reference point, it reflects
on intelligence, human limits, and how long standing ideas about the mind may need to be rethought in the age of AI.
Speakers and moderator
- Mr. Michael Redmond – first Western professional 9Dan Go player
- Professor Nam Chi Hyung – of the Myongji university, Baduk Studies
- Professor Benjamin Yang – author and scholar
- Moderator: James Lee – President of Singapore Weiqi Association
Additional information
- Light refreshments will be served from 4.00pm onwards (basement foyer).
- Registration closes 24 hours before the event.
- Seats are limited. Early registration is recommended.
Registration link:
https://28feb2026programme.peatix.com/event/4855847/view