Centaur

In the tech world, the term centaur refers to a human and artificial intelligence (AI) hybrid that performs better than either would alone. For example, a chess player who has teamed up with a chess-playing AI may be referred to as a centaur.

Where does the term centaur come from?

As you likely already know, a "normal" centaur is a half-man, half-horse creature that possesses the strengths of both man and horse. After losing to the chess-playing AI Big Blue in 1997, grandmaster Garry Kasparov created a form of chess that is often referred to as centaur chess. Centaur chess allows players to team up with AIs and select their moves from a number of options the AI provides (or make an entirely different move, if they desire). Human and AI tag teams are often referred to as centaurs. As AI has become more prevalent, the term centaur has been used to refer to other human-AI partnerships.

Do centaurs really perform better than solo AIs?

When performing complex tasks that benefit from human ingenuity and intuition, yes. For example, human-AI centaurs frequently beat both solo human chess players and solo AI chess players.

Am I a centaur?

Yes, you are likely a centaur. For example, every time you use the text your smartphone's predictive text algorithm suggests, you are teaming up with an AI - making you a bona fide tech centaur.