Kasparov Versus Chess Computers

Kasparov comments on chess computers in an interview with Thierry Paunin on pages 4-5 of issue 55 of Jeux & Stratégie (published in 1989): ‘Question: Two top grandmasters have gone down to chess computers: Portisch against “Leonardo” and Larsen against “Deep Thought”. It is well known that you have strong views on this subject. Will a computer be world champion, one day ...? Kasparov: Ridiculous! A machine will always remain a machine, that is to say a tool to help the player work and prepare. Never shall I be beaten by a machine! Never will a program be invented which surpasses human intelligence. And when I say intelligence, I also mean intuition and imagination. Can you see a machine writing a novel or poetry? Better still, can you imagine a machine conducting this interview instead of you? With me replying to its questions?’ (180)

An excerpt from a 1989 interview shows Garry Kasparov dismissing the possibility that chess computers could surpass human intelligence. The joke comes from the dramatic irony that modern AI can now write prose, poetry, and conduct interviews—doing exactly what Kasparov said machines could never do. It is shared as a reaction to confident predictions about the limits of technology and artificial intelligence.

• @dev_meme / 7747 2026-02-22