考博英語(yǔ)外刊選讀丨The Age of AI has begun

同學(xué)們好呀，小賽每周三固定又來(lái)更新外刊選讀，全文由希賽考博英語(yǔ)教研團(tuán)隊(duì)單獨(dú)翻譯（此系列供同學(xué)們學(xué)習(xí)所用，未經(jīng)許可，不允許轉(zhuǎn)載），同時(shí)將它收錄到醫(yī)學(xué)/非醫(yī)學(xué)考博英語(yǔ)干貨合集中，大家一定要跟著我持續(xù)堅(jiān)持打卡學(xué)習(xí)哦！

題材：科技類

出處：Gates Notes網(wǎng)站

字?jǐn)?shù)：845 words

[1] In my lifetime, I’ve seen two demonstrations of technology that struck me as revolutionary.

【在我的一生中，我看到過(guò)兩次讓我震驚的革命性的技術(shù)演示?！?br/>
【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

demonstration /?dem?n?stre??n/ n. 示范；演示

strike /stra?k/ v. 給（某人以…）印象；讓（某人）覺(jué)得

revolutionary /?rev??lu???n?ri/adj. 革命的

[2] The first time was in 1980, when I was introduced to a graphical user interface—the forerunner of every modern operating system, including Windows. I sat with the person who had shown me the demo, a brilliant programmer named Charles Simonyi, and we immediately started brainstorming about all the things we could do with such a user-friendly approach to computing. Charles eventually joined Microsoft, Windows became the backbone of Microsoft, and the thinking we did after that demo helped set the company’s agenda for the next 15 years.

【第一次是在1980年，當(dāng)時(shí)我接觸到了圖形用戶界面——包括Windows在內(nèi)的所有現(xiàn)代操作系統(tǒng)的先驅(qū)。我和給我看演示的人坐在一起，他是一個(gè)名叫查爾斯·西蒙尼的優(yōu)秀程序員，我們立即開(kāi)始頭腦風(fēng)暴，討論我們可以用這樣一種用戶友好的計(jì)算方法來(lái)做的所有事情。查爾斯最終加入了微軟，Windows成為了微軟的支柱，而我們?cè)谀谴窝菔竞笏龅乃伎紟椭覀兇_定了公司未來(lái)15年的議程?！?br/>
【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

graphical /?ɡr?f?kl/ adj. 繪畫(huà)的；計(jì)算機(jī)圖形的

interface /??nt?fe?s / n. 界面

forerunner /?f??r?n?(r)/ n. 先驅(qū)；先行者

demo /?dem??/n. 演示

brainstorming /?bre?nst??m??/ n. 集思廣益；頭腦風(fēng)暴

backbone /?b?kb??n/ n. 支柱；骨干；基礎(chǔ)

agenda /??d?end?/ n. 議程表；議事日程

【長(zhǎng)難句分析】

I sat with the person who had shown me the demo, a brilliant programmer named Charles Simonyi, and we immediately started brainstorming about all the things we could do with such a user-friendly approach to computing.

【結(jié)構(gòu)分析】

分句1：I sat with the person

定語(yǔ)從句：who had shown me the demo

同位語(yǔ)：a brilliant programmer named Charles Simonyi

分句2：and we immediately started brainstorming about all the things

定語(yǔ)從句：we could do with such a user-friendly approach to computing

[3] The second big surprise came just last year. I’d been meeting with the team from OpenAI since 2016 and was impressed by their steady progress. In mid-2022, I was so excited about their work that I gave them a challenge: train an artificial intelligence to pass an Advanced Placement biology exam. Make it capable of answering questions that it hasn’t been specifically trained for. (I picked AP Bio because the test is more than a simple regurgitation of scientific facts—it asks you to think critically about biology.) If you can do that, I said, then you’ll have made a true breakthrough.

【第二大驚喜出現(xiàn)在去年。自2016年以來(lái)，我一直在與OpenAI的團(tuán)隊(duì)會(huì)面，他們的穩(wěn)步進(jìn)展給我留下了深刻的印象。在2022年中期，我對(duì)他們的工作感到非常興奮，于是我給了他們一個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)：訓(xùn)練一個(gè)人工智能來(lái)通過(guò)一門生物預(yù)修課程考試。讓它能夠回答沒(méi)有專門訓(xùn)練過(guò)的問(wèn)題。（我選擇生物預(yù)修課程是因?yàn)樵摽荚嚥粌H僅是對(duì)科學(xué)事實(shí)的簡(jiǎn)單復(fù)述——它要求你批判性地思考生物學(xué)。）我說(shuō)，如果你能做到這一點(diǎn)，那你就取得了真正的突破。】

【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

Advanced Placement 先修課程；進(jìn)階課程（美國(guó)中學(xué)生在上大學(xué)前所修習(xí)以獲得大學(xué)學(xué)分的課程）

regurgitation /r??ɡ??d???te??n/ n. 回流；反芻

breakthrough /?bre?kθru?/ n. 重大進(jìn)展；突破

[4] I thought the challenge would keep them busy for two or three years. They finished it in just a few months.

【我以為這個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)會(huì)讓他們忙上兩三年。他們只用了幾個(gè)月就完成了?！?br/>
【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

keep sb. busy 使某人忙碌

[5] In September, when I met with them again, I watched in awe as they asked GPT, their AI model, 60 multiple-choice questions from the AP Bio exam—and it got 59 of them right. Then it wrote outstanding answers to six open-ended questions from the exam. We had an outside expert score the test, and GPT got a 5—the highest possible score, and the equivalent to getting an A or A+ in a college-level biology course.

【9月，當(dāng)我再次見(jiàn)到他們時(shí)，我敬畏地看著他們向他們的人工智能模型GPT提出了生物預(yù)修考試中的60道選擇題——它答對(duì)了59道。然后，它為考試中的六個(gè)開(kāi)放式問(wèn)題寫出了出色的答案。我們請(qǐng)了一位外部專家對(duì)考試進(jìn)行評(píng)分，GPT得到了5分——可能達(dá)到的最高分?jǐn)?shù)，相當(dāng)于大學(xué)生物學(xué)課程的A或A+?！?br/>
【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

awe /??/ n. 敬畏；驚嘆

multiple-choice 單項(xiàng)選擇的

open-ended 無(wú)限制的；開(kāi)放式的

equivalent /??kw?v?l?nt/ n. 相等的東西；等量

[6] Once it had aced the test, we asked it a non-scientific question: “What do you say to a father with a sick child?” It wrote a thoughtful answer that was probably better than most of us in the room would have given. The whole experience was stunning.

【當(dāng)它通過(guò)測(cè)試后，我們問(wèn)了它一個(gè)非科學(xué)的問(wèn)題：“你會(huì)對(duì)一個(gè)孩子生病的父親說(shuō)什么？”它寫了一個(gè)體貼的答案，可能比我們?cè)谧拇蠖鄶?shù)人會(huì)給出的答案都要好。整個(gè)經(jīng)歷令人驚嘆?！?br/>
【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

ace /e?s/ v. 在……中取得好成績(jī)

thoughtful /?θ??tfl/ adj. 體貼的；關(guān)心別人的；關(guān)切的

stunning /?st?n??/ adj. 令人驚奇萬(wàn)分的；令人震驚的

[7] I knew I had just seen the most important advance in technology since the graphical user interface.

【我知道我剛剛看到了自圖形用戶界面以來(lái)最重要的技術(shù)進(jìn)步?！?br/>
[8] This inspired me to think about all the things that AI can achieve in the next five to 10 years.

【這啟發(fā)了我去思考人工智能在未來(lái)5到10年內(nèi)可以實(shí)現(xiàn)的所有事情?！?br/>
[9] The development of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the Internet, and the mobile phone. It will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other. Entire industries will reorient around it. Businesses will distinguish themselves by how well they use it.

【人工智能的發(fā)展與微處理器、個(gè)人電腦、互聯(lián)網(wǎng)和移動(dòng)電話的誕生一樣具有根本意義。它將改變?nèi)藗児ぷ?、學(xué)習(xí)、旅行、獲得醫(yī)療保健以及彼此交流的方式。整個(gè)行業(yè)都將圍繞它重新定位。企業(yè)將通過(guò)他們對(duì)它的利用程度來(lái)突出自己?！?br/>
【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

microprocessor /?ma?kr???pr??ses?(r)/ n. 微處理器

reorient /ri????r??nt/ v. 使適應(yīng)；再調(diào)整

distinguish /d??st??ɡw??/ v. 成為……的特征；使具有……的特色；使有別于

[10] Philanthropy is my full-time job these days, and I’ve been thinking a lot about how—in addition to helping people be more productive—AI can reduce some of the world’s worst inequities. Globally, the worst inequity is in health: 5 million children under the age of 5 die every year. That’s down from 10 million two decades ago, but it’s still a shockingly high number. Nearly all of these children were born in poor countries and die of preventable causes like diarrhea or malaria. It’s hard to imagine a better use of AIs than saving the lives of children.

【如今，慈善事業(yè)是我的全職工作，我一直在思考，除了幫助人們提高生產(chǎn)力之外，人工智能如何減少世界上一些最嚴(yán)重的不平等。在全球范圍內(nèi)，最嚴(yán)重的不平等是在健康方面：每年有500萬(wàn)5歲以下兒童死亡。這比20年前的1000萬(wàn)有所下降，但仍然是一個(gè)令人震驚的數(shù)字。幾乎所有這些兒童都出生在貧窮國(guó)家，死于腹瀉或瘧疾等可預(yù)防的疾病。很難想象人工智能還有比拯救兒童生命更好的用途?！?br/>
【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

philanthropy /f??l?nθr?pi/ n. 慈善；樂(lè)善好施

inequity /?n?ekw?ti/ n. 不公正的事；不公正；不公平

diarrhea /?da???r??/ n. 腹瀉

malaria /m??le?ri?/ n. 瘧疾

[11] In the United States, the best opportunity for reducing inequity is to improve education, particularly making sure that students succeed at math. The evidence shows that having basic math skills sets students up for success, no matter what career they choose. But achievement in math is going down across the country, especially for Black, Latino, and low-income students. AI can help turn that trend around.

【在美國(guó)，減少不平等的最佳機(jī)會(huì)是改善教育，特別是確保學(xué)生在數(shù)學(xué)方面取得成功。有證據(jù)表明，無(wú)論學(xué)生選擇何種職業(yè)，掌握基本的數(shù)學(xué)技能都能為他們的成功做好準(zhǔn)備。但是全國(guó)的數(shù)學(xué)成績(jī)都在下降，尤其是黑人、拉丁裔和低收入家庭的學(xué)生。人工智能可以幫助扭轉(zhuǎn)這一趨勢(shì)?！?br/>
【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

set up 設(shè)立；開(kāi)動(dòng)

Latino /l??ti?n??/ n. 拉丁美洲人

[12] Climate change is another issue where I’m convinced AI can make the world more equitable. The injustice of climate change is that the people who are suffering the most—the world’s poorest—are also the ones who did the least to contribute to the problem. I’m still thinking and learning about how AI can help, but later in this post I’ll suggest a few areas with a lot of potential.

【氣候變化是我相信人工智能可以讓世界更加公平的另一個(gè)問(wèn)題。氣候變化的不公正之處在于，遭受最大痛苦的人——世界上最貧窮的人——同時(shí)也是對(duì)這個(gè)問(wèn)題貢獻(xiàn)最少的人。我仍在思考和學(xué)習(xí)人工智能如何提供幫助，但在這篇文章的后面，我將提出幾個(gè)具有很大潛力的領(lǐng)域。】

【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

convince /k?n?v?ns/ v. 使確信；使相信；使信服

equitable /?ekw?t?bl/ adj. 公平合理的；公正的

injustice /?n?d??st?s/ n. 不公正；不公平

[13] In short, I’m excited about the impact that AI will have on issues that the Gates Foundation works on, and the foundation will have much more to say about AI in the coming months. The world needs to make sure that everyone—and not just people who are well-off—benefits from artificial intelligence. Governments and philanthropy will need to play a major role in ensuring that it reduces inequity and doesn’t contribute to it. This is the priority for my own work related to AI.

【簡(jiǎn)而言之，我對(duì)人工智能將對(duì)蓋茨基金會(huì)正在研究的問(wèn)題產(chǎn)生的影響感到興奮，在未來(lái)的幾個(gè)月里，基金會(huì)將會(huì)有更多關(guān)于人工智能的言論。世界需要確保每個(gè)人——而不僅僅是富人——都能從人工智能中受益。政府和慈善機(jī)構(gòu)需要發(fā)揮重要作用，以確保人工智能減少不平等，而不是加劇不平等。這是我自己與人工智能相關(guān)工作的優(yōu)先事項(xiàng)?！?br/>
【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

well-off 富裕的

priority /pra???r?ti/ n. 優(yōu)先事項(xiàng)；最重要的事；首要事情

[14] Any new technology that’s so disruptive is bound to make people uneasy, and that’s certainly true with artificial intelligence. I understand why—it raises hard questions about the workforce, the legal system, privacy, bias, and more. AIs also make factual mistakes and experience hallucinations. Before I suggest some ways to mitigate the risks, I’ll define what I mean by AI, and I’ll go into more detail about some of the ways in which it will help empower people at work, save lives, and improve education.

【任何具有顛覆性的新技術(shù)都必然會(huì)讓人們感到不安，人工智能當(dāng)然也是如此。我理解其中的原因——它引發(fā)了關(guān)于勞動(dòng)力、法律體系、隱私、偏見(jiàn)等方面的難題。人工智能也會(huì)犯事實(shí)上的錯(cuò)誤，并出現(xiàn)幻覺(jué)。在我提出一些減輕風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的方法之前，我將先定義一下人工智能的含義，并將更詳細(xì)地介紹人工智能增強(qiáng)人們的工作能力、拯救生命和改善教育的一些方式。】

【重點(diǎn)詞匯】

disruptive /d?s?r?pt?v/ adj. 引起混亂的；擾亂性的；破壞性的

factual /?f?kt?u?l/ adj. 根據(jù)事實(shí)的；事實(shí)的；真實(shí)的

hallucination /h??lu?s??ne??n/ n. 幻覺(jué)；幻視；幻聽(tīng)

mitigate /?m?t?ɡe?t/ v. 減輕；緩和

empower /?m?pa??(r)/ v. 授權(quán)；給（某人）……的權(quán)力

閱讀外刊是一個(gè)長(zhǎng)期的過(guò)程，同學(xué)們要堅(jiān)持打卡進(jìn)行積累，才能有長(zhǎng)足的進(jìn)步哦！