Re: computer-go: Authenticating the identity of a remote go-playing computer program

[Don Dailey <drd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Also, authenticating  that someone is  not using  a program written by
> someone else is also not simple.  It  is possible to modify the stolen
> program to obscure  the fact that it is  being used, and to make minor
> changes so  that  it maintains most of   its playing strength  without
> playing exactly  the same moves.  This  has already  happened at least
> once.


Hi David,

Yes, this has happened in chess competitions too, actually a number of
times.  Public  domain  programs, especially  good ones,  makes this a
major concern.  I don't think there are good public domain GO programs
(as compared to programs  like your own) so this  may not yet be a big
problem  in Go,  but   commercial programs can  also  be  hijacked and
represented as belong to someone else.

Consider: I once developed an auto tester to use with commercial chess
programs.   It  looked at screen memory,   oberseved state changes and
used this to decode  moves.  The arbiter  program could fake  keyboard
and mouse input  to interact with the  program.   Now had I wanted,  I
could put my own  GUI  over the top of   one of the good programs  and
tried to represent it as my own!  With a  little care, you can do just
enough reverse engineering to alter its playing style a little without
making it play significantly weaker.

Don