<s>
The	O
Matchbox	B-Device
Educable	I-Device
Noughts	I-Device
and	I-Device
Crosses	I-Device
Engine	I-Device
(	O
sometimes	O
called	O
the	O
Machine	B-Device
Educable	I-Device
Noughts	I-Device
and	I-Device
Crosses	I-Device
Engine	I-Device
or	O
MENACE	B-Device
)	O
was	O
a	O
mechanical	B-Device
computer	I-Device
made	O
from	O
304	O
matchboxes	B-Device
designed	O
and	O
built	O
by	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
researcher	O
Donald	O
Michie	O
in	O
1961	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
play	O
human	O
opponents	O
in	O
games	O
of	O
noughts	B-Application
and	I-Application
crosses	I-Application
(	O
tic-tac-toe	O
)	O
by	O
returning	O
a	O
move	O
for	O
any	O
given	O
state	O
of	O
play	O
and	O
to	O
refine	O
its	O
strategy	O
through	O
reinforcement	O
learning	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Michie	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
a	O
computer	O
readily	O
available	O
,	O
so	O
he	O
worked	O
around	O
this	O
restriction	O
by	O
building	O
it	O
out	O
of	O
matchboxes	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
matchboxes	B-Device
used	O
by	O
Michie	O
each	O
represented	O
a	O
single	O
possible	O
layout	O
of	O
a	O
noughts	B-Application
and	I-Application
crosses	I-Application
grid	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Michie	O
held	O
a	O
tournament	O
against	O
MENACE	B-Device
in	O
1961	O
,	O
wherein	O
he	O
experimented	O
with	O
different	O
openings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
MENACE	B-Device
's	O
maiden	O
tournament	O
against	O
Michie	O
,	O
it	O
demonstrated	O
successful	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
in	O
its	O
strategy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Michie	O
's	O
essays	O
on	O
MENACE	B-Device
's	O
weight	O
initialisation	O
and	O
the	O
BOXES	O
algorithm	O
used	O
by	O
MENACE	B-Device
became	O
popular	O
in	O
the	O
field	O
of	O
computer	O
science	O
research	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Michie	O
was	O
honoured	O
for	O
his	O
contribution	O
to	O
machine	O
learning	O
research	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
twice	O
commissioned	O
to	O
program	O
a	O
MENACE	B-Device
simulation	O
on	O
an	O
actual	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fifteen	O
years	O
later	O
,	O
he	O
wanted	O
to	O
further	O
display	O
his	O
mathematical	O
and	O
computational	O
prowess	O
with	O
an	O
early	O
convolutional	B-Architecture
neural	I-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
computer	O
equipment	O
was	O
not	O
obtainable	O
for	O
such	O
uses	O
,	O
and	O
Michie	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
a	O
computer	O
readily	O
available	O
,	O
he	O
decided	O
to	O
display	O
and	O
demonstrate	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
in	O
a	O
more	O
esoteric	O
format	O
and	O
constructed	O
a	O
functional	O
mechanical	B-Device
computer	I-Device
out	O
of	O
matchboxes	B-Device
and	O
beads	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MENACE	B-Device
was	O
constructed	O
as	O
the	O
result	O
of	O
a	O
bet	O
with	O
a	O
computer	O
science	O
colleague	O
who	O
postulated	O
that	O
such	O
a	O
machine	O
was	O
impossible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Michie	O
undertook	O
the	O
task	O
of	O
collecting	O
and	O
defining	O
each	O
matchbox	B-Device
as	O
a	O
'	O
fun	O
project	O
 '	O
,	O
later	O
turned	O
into	O
a	O
demonstration	O
tool	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Michie	O
completed	O
his	O
essay	O
on	O
MENACE	B-Device
in	O
1963	O
,	O
"	O
Experiments	O
on	O
the	O
mechanization	O
of	O
game-learning	O
"	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
his	O
essay	O
on	O
the	O
BOXES	O
Algorithm	O
,	O
written	O
with	O
R	O
.	O
A	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chambers	O
and	O
had	O
built	O
up	O
an	O
AI	B-Application
research	I-Application
unit	O
in	O
Hope	O
Park	O
Square	O
,	O
Edinburgh	O
,	O
Scotland	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MENACE	B-Device
"	O
learned	O
"	O
by	O
playing	O
increasing	O
matches	O
of	O
noughts	B-Application
and	I-Application
crosses	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
MENACE	B-Device
was	O
made	O
from	O
304	O
matchboxes	B-Device
glued	O
together	O
in	O
an	O
arrangement	O
similar	O
to	O
a	O
chest	O
of	O
drawers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
removing	O
duplicate	O
arrangements	O
(	O
ones	O
that	O
were	O
simply	O
rotations	O
or	O
mirror	O
images	O
of	O
other	O
configurations	O
)	O
,	O
MENACE	B-Device
used	O
304	O
permutations	O
in	O
its	O
chart	O
and	O
thus	O
that	O
many	O
matchboxes	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
individual	O
matchbox	B-Device
tray	O
contained	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
coloured	O
beads	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
colour	O
represented	O
a	O
move	O
on	O
a	O
square	O
on	O
the	O
game	O
grid	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
matchboxes	B-Device
with	O
arrangements	O
where	O
positions	O
on	O
the	O
grid	O
were	O
already	O
taken	O
would	O
not	O
have	O
beads	O
for	O
that	O
position	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
at	O
the	O
front	O
of	O
the	O
tray	O
were	O
two	O
extra	O
pieces	O
of	O
card	O
in	O
a	O
"	O
V	O
"	O
shape	O
,	O
the	O
point	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
V	O
"	O
pointing	O
at	O
the	O
front	O
of	O
the	O
matchbox	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Michie	O
and	O
his	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
team	O
called	O
MENACE	B-Device
's	O
algorithm	O
"	O
Boxes	O
"	O
,	O
after	O
the	O
apparatus	O
used	O
for	O
the	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MENACE	B-Device
played	O
first	O
,	O
as	O
O	O
,	O
since	O
all	O
matchboxes	B-Device
represented	O
permutations	O
only	O
relevant	O
to	O
the	O
"	O
X	O
"	O
player	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
retrieve	O
MENACE	B-Device
's	O
choice	O
of	O
move	O
,	O
the	O
opponent	O
or	O
operator	O
located	O
the	O
matchbox	B-Device
that	O
matched	O
the	O
current	O
game	O
state	O
,	O
or	O
a	O
rotation	O
or	O
mirror	O
image	O
of	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
at	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
a	O
game	O
,	O
this	O
would	O
be	O
the	O
matchbox	B-Device
for	O
an	O
empty	O
grid	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Then	O
,	O
the	O
bead	O
that	O
had	O
rolled	O
into	O
the	O
point	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
V	O
"	O
shape	O
at	O
the	O
front	O
of	O
the	O
tray	O
was	O
the	O
move	O
MENACE	B-Device
had	O
chosen	O
to	O
make	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
colour	O
was	O
then	O
used	O
as	O
the	O
position	O
to	O
play	O
on	O
,	O
and	O
,	O
after	O
accounting	O
for	O
any	O
rotations	O
or	O
flips	O
needed	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
chosen	O
matchbox	B-Device
configuration	O
's	O
relation	O
to	O
the	O
current	O
grid	O
,	O
the	O
O	O
would	O
be	O
placed	O
on	O
that	O
square	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
game	O
was	O
played	O
,	O
each	O
matchbox	B-Device
that	O
was	O
used	O
for	O
MENACE	B-Device
's	O
turn	O
had	O
its	O
tray	O
returned	O
to	O
it	O
ajar	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
bead	O
used	O
kept	O
aside	O
,	O
so	O
that	O
MENACE	B-Device
's	O
choice	O
of	O
moves	O
and	O
the	O
game	O
states	O
they	O
belonged	O
to	O
were	O
recorded	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
finished	O
,	O
if	O
MENACE	B-Device
had	O
won	O
,	O
it	O
would	O
then	O
receive	O
a	O
"	O
reward	O
"	O
for	O
its	O
victory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
way	O
,	O
in	O
future	O
games	O
MENACE	B-Device
would	O
become	O
more	O
likely	O
to	O
repeat	O
those	O
winning	O
moves	O
,	O
reinforcing	O
winning	O
strategies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
it	O
lost	O
,	O
the	O
removed	O
beads	O
were	O
not	O
returned	O
,	O
"	O
punishing	O
"	O
MENACE	B-Device
,	O
and	O
meaning	O
that	O
in	O
future	O
it	O
would	O
be	O
less	O
likely	O
,	O
and	O
eventually	O
incapable	O
if	O
that	O
colour	O
of	O
bead	O
became	O
absent	O
,	O
to	O
repeat	O
the	O
moves	O
that	O
cause	O
a	O
loss	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Noughts	B-Application
and	I-Application
crosses	I-Application
has	O
a	O
well-known	O
optimal	O
strategy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
human	O
player	O
is	O
familiar	O
with	O
the	O
optimal	O
strategy	O
,	O
and	O
MENACE	B-Device
can	O
quickly	O
learn	O
it	O
,	O
then	O
the	O
games	O
will	O
eventually	O
only	O
end	O
in	O
draws	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Donald	O
Michie	O
's	O
official	O
tournament	O
against	O
MENACE	B-Device
in	O
1961	O
he	O
used	O
optimal	O
strategy	O
,	O
and	O
he	O
and	O
the	O
computer	O
began	O
to	O
draw	O
consistently	O
after	O
twenty	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
15	O
games	O
,	O
MENACE	B-Device
abandoned	O
all	O
non-corner	O
openings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Depending	O
on	O
the	O
strategy	O
employed	O
by	O
the	O
human	O
player	O
,	O
MENACE	B-Device
produces	O
a	O
different	O
trend	O
on	O
scatter	B-Application
graphs	I-Application
of	O
wins	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Donald	O
Michie	O
's	O
MENACE	B-Device
proved	O
that	O
a	O
computer	O
could	O
"	O
learn	O
"	O
from	O
failure	O
and	O
success	O
to	O
become	O
good	O
at	O
a	O
task	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
combination	O
of	O
how	O
MENACE	B-Device
starts	O
with	O
equal	O
numbers	O
of	O
types	O
of	O
beads	O
in	O
each	O
matchbox	B-Device
,	O
and	O
how	O
these	O
are	O
then	O
selected	O
at	O
random	O
,	O
creates	O
a	O
learning	O
behaviour	O
similar	O
to	O
weight	O
initialisation	O
in	O
modern	O
artificial	B-Architecture
neural	I-Architecture
networks	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
resounding	O
reception	O
of	O
MENACE	B-Device
,	O
Michie	O
was	O
invited	O
to	O
the	O
US	O
Office	O
of	O
Naval	O
Research	O
,	O
where	O
he	O
was	O
commissioned	O
to	O
build	O
a	O
"	O
Boxes	O
"	O
-running	O
program	O
for	O
an	O
IBM	O
Computer	O
for	O
use	O
at	O
Stanford	O
University	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Michie	O
created	O
a	O
simulation	O
program	O
of	O
MENACE	B-Device
on	O
a	O
Pegasus	B-Device
2	I-Device
computer	O
with	O
the	O
aid	O
of	O
D	O
.	O
Martin	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
have	O
been	O
multiple	O
recreations	O
of	O
MENACE	B-Device
in	O
more	O
recent	O
years	O
,	O
both	O
in	O
its	O
original	O
physical	O
form	O
and	O
as	O
a	O
computer	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
not	O
as	O
a	O
functional	O
computer	O
,	O
in	O
examples	O
of	O
demonstration	O
,	O
MENACE	B-Device
has	O
been	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
teaching	O
aid	O
for	O
various	O
neural	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
classes	O
,	O
including	O
a	O
public	O
demonstration	O
from	O
University	O
College	O
London	O
Researcher	O
Matthew	O
Scroggs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
copy	O
of	O
MENACE	B-Device
built	O
by	O
Scroggs	O
was	O
featured	O
in	O
the	O
2019	O
Royal	O
Institution	O
Christmas	O
Lectures	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
a	O
2023	O
episode	O
of	O
QI	O
XL	O
.	O
</s>
