Google's computer programme AlphaGo beat the world's top-ranked player in the ancient Chinese board game Go on Tuesday, May 23, re-affirming the arrival of what its developers tout as a ground-breaking new form of artificial intelligence, AFP reports.

AlphaGo took the first encounter in a three-game series against brash 19-year-old Chinese world number one Ke Jie, who before the game called the programme a "cold machine" and vowed never to play it again after this week.

AlphaGo, which was developed by London-based AI company DeepMind Technologies, stunned the Go community a year ago when it trounced South Korean grandmaster Lee Se-Dol four games to one -- the first time a computer programme beat a top player in a full contest.

The win over Lee was hailed as a technology landmark, fuelling visions of a brave new world of AI that can not only drive cars and operate "smart homes", but potentially help mankind figure out some of the most complex scientific, technical, and medical problems.

Last year's win set the stage for a much-anticipated contest with Ke in the eastern Chinese city of Wuzhen.

Ke, who has been the top-ranked player in the 3,000-year-old game for more than two years and has previously described himself as a "pretentious", boldly said last year "Bring it on!" and vowed never to lose to a machine.

Go involves two players alternately laying black and white stones on a grid, seeking to seal off the most territory.

Proponents had considered Go a bastion in which human ingenuity would remain superior, at least for the foreseeable future.