If(), else if() alternative in c++(Is this AI?)

Question

First off, I am a noob. I am also a Janitor that has never made a dime writing code. This is just something that I love doing. It is for fun:) That being said, I wrote this console based tic-tak-toe game that has enough ai to not lose every game. (I guess ai is what it should be called.) It has something like 70 if/else if statements for the computers turn. I used 3 int arrays like so:

int L[2], M[2], R[2];

0 = blank; 1 = X; 2 = O;
The board then 'Looks' like
L[0] | M[0] | R[0]
L[1] | M[1] | R[1]
L[2] | M[2] | R[2]

So I basically wrote out every possible scenario I could think something like:

if(M[0]==1 & M[1]==1 & M[2]==0){M[2] = 2;}//here the computer prevents a win 
else if(L[0] ==2&M[1]==2&R[2]==0){R[2]=2;}//here the computer wins
//and so on....68 more times!

I guess my question(s) is(are):
Is there a better way?
Is there a way to achieve the same result with less lines of code?
Is this considered Artificial Intelligence?

Answer 1

The Wikipedia page on Tic-Tac-Toe has a very good algorithm outline for winning (or tying) every game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tic-tac-toe which is what I used to make a Tic-Tac-Toe game several years ago.

After you understand the algorithm, one of the cleverest ways to implement a Tic-Tac-Toe computer player is with a magic square. The method is discussed here. As far as size goes, I've seen this implemented in about 50 lines of code, I'll post the code if I find it :)

This isn't technically artificial intelligence, as AI usually refers to artificial neurons, neuron layers, gradient descent, support vector machines, solving complex polynomials, and the like. Solving Tic-Tac-Toe

Answer 2

The standard algorithm for this is called Minimax. It basically builds a tree, where the beginning of the game is the root, and then the children represent every possible move X can make on the first turn, then the children of each of those nodes are all the moves O can make in response, etc. Once the entire tree is filled (which is possible for Tic-Tac-Toe, but for games like Chess computers still don't have enough memory), you work your way back up, assuming both players are smart enough to make the best move, and arrive at the optimal move. Here is another explanation of Minimax specifically using Tic Tac Toe as an example.