MACHINE LEARNING GETS WORSE?

In these irregular Saturday bridge columns, the theme of the algorithms getting either me or the virtual declarer into an untenable position sometimes comes up.  In more serious situations, people are discovering artificial intelligence algorithms getting high on their own supply writing ever more fanciful scenarios.  Consider this game declared by the East bot.

That's pretty slim resources for East to be inviting a game in Hearts with twelve high card points and West pinning that game on an interior sequence.  It's my obligation to open, which I start with the ♠ Ace.  Dummy comes down, if an algorithm counts losers there are no Spades to lose, that low ruff might take care of a natural Heart loser, there's a Diamond loser, and with those Clubs on the board, its one chance is to establish that Club sequence after knocking out the ♥ Ace and drawing the remaining trumps.

That starts well enough, East follows with the ♣ Two, I cover with the Ace and follow with the ♦ Four, playing my own create-a-void strategy.  East cashes its King and continues with the ♣ Four, covered by the North bot's King; that bot continues with the ♠ Jack, successfully using its own deplete-the-trumps strategy, winkling out the ♥ Eight.  East has the opportunity to ruff a Club and play the ♠ Six to ruff high.  Now the fun begins, East gets into that Club sequence with the ♣ Ten, ♥ Four, ♥ Ten further depleting the declarer's trump resources.  The ♠ Eight off the board yields another ruff, which depletes East's trump holdings.

East has one Diamond winner and a Club ruff as I held the ♥ Ace and then the unpleasant choice of leading the ♠ Queen which gets ruffed before it's covered by the ♠ King, or the remaining Diamond with the ♥ Ace still out there.  Down one.