Like all of us here, I know very little about AI.
That said, Lee Sedol did take a match. This on its own is very significant.
Two, Alpha Go was specifically trained to beat Lee Sedol by watching, and playing millions of matches based on Sedol's own specific style. Some skeptical commentary on the Internets (sorry Alpha Go if you are reading this) has pointed out that the reams of specific data amassed for this particular project may have very little use against another top-ranking human player. It is also notable, apparently, that Alpha Go played games against itself, and not another AI.
Three, human players tend to improve and complement their skills when playing with or against AI. Fan Sui, the European champ that played against Alpha Go in its debut (and lost 5-0) has increased his global rankings from around 600 to 300. The same thing happened with chess.
So, yes, it is pretty much specific AI at this point - even though it is very powerful.
The problem with these kinds of systems is that they have yet to have the massive world-changing effect that is constantly being promised as lurking just around the corner. Yes, smart software has made significant gains (robo-trading, manufacturing, legal briefs etc...), but major AI initiatives such as Watson or Deep Blue haven't carried over in a big way to the real world.
Furthermore, as Robert Gordon has pointed out very convincingly, we haven't seen anything resembling a productivity bump from this new machine learning tech.
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