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The future of Go: Lee Se-dol is back, and this time it's personal

Published: 03 Mar. 2026, 18:10

Korean Go grandmaster Lee Se-dol is seen during his match against Google DeepMind's AlphaGo at Four Seasons Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul on March 12, 2016. [GOOGLE]

Go player Lee Se-dol will return to the stage with AI for the first time in a decade after his historic match against AlphaGo in 2016. This time, the focus shifts from a head-to-head showdown to collaboration with “agentic AI,” positioned as a tool that “supports human intent.”

Agentic AI startup Enhans will hold a global AI campaign with Lee next Monday at Ara I + II at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, the AI company said Tuesday. The event will take place at the same venue where the Lee-AlphaGo match was held in 2016.

Enhans plans to spotlight what it describes as a turning point in commercializing agentic AI, built on ontology-based technology that structures the relationship between human intentions and data. The company frames this as an evolution from simple computational ability toward AI that understands context and purpose.

Go, also known as baduk in Korean, became well known in the world of AI when Google DeepMind’s AlphaGo defeated South Korean champion Lee in a five-game match in March 2016.

During the event, Lee is set to take the stage and hold a live conversation with an Enhans AI agent while discussing ideas for the “future of Go.” He will then play a match after a Go model is reconfigured in real time, in a format expected to test the potential of interactive, intent-driven AI beyond the traditional human-versus-machine narrative.

Anthropic, Nvidia and Microsoft are listed as official sponsors, according to Enhans.

“It is meaningful to return to the site that once delivered shock and surprise about AI’s capabilities, this time to show AI evolving into a partner that supports human intent and expands creativity,” said Enhans CEO Lee Seung-hyun.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]