金融时报:“危险”的人工智能

“危险”的人工智能

没有证据表明科学家将难以控制计算机，但在这个领域，科技先驱们确实需要谨慎行事。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

asteroid['æstərɔɪd] 小行星

holocaust['hɒləkɔːst] 大屠杀；浩劫

catastrophe[kə'tæstrəfi] 大灾难

Genuine concerns about artificial intelligence (575 words)

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Since the dawn of civilisation, mankind has been obsessed by the possibility that it will one day be extinguished. The impact of an asteroid on earth and the spectre of nuclear holocaust are the most prevalent millenarian fears of our age. But some scientists are increasingly of the view that a new nightmare must be added to the list. Their concern is that intelligent computers will eventually develop minds of their own and destroy the human race.

The latest warning comes from Professor Stephen Hawking, the renowned astrophysicist who has motor neurone disease. He told an interviewer this week that artificial intelligence could “outsmart us all” and that there is a “near certainty” of technological catastrophe. Most non-experts will dismiss his claims as a fantasy rooted in science fiction. But the pace of progress in artificial intelligence, or AI, means policy makers should already be considering the social consequences.

The idea that machines might one day be capable of thinking like people has been loosely discussed since the dawn of computing in the 1950s. The huge amount of cash being poured into AI research by US technology companies, together with the exponential growth in computer power, means startling predictions are now being made.

According to a recent survey, half the world's AI experts believe human-level machine intelligence will be achieved by 2040 and 90 per cent say it will arrive by 2075. Several AI experts talk about the possibility that the human brain will eventually be “reverse engineered”. Some prominent tech leaders, meanwhile, warn that the consequences are unpredictable. Elon Musk, the pioneer of electric cars and private space flight at Tesla Motors and SpaceX, has argued that advanced computer technology is “potentially more dangerous than nukes”.

Western governments should be taking the ethical implications of the development of AI seriously. One concern is that nearly all the research being conducted in this field is privately undertaken by US-based technology companies. Google has made some of the most ambitious investments, ranging from its work on quantum computing through to its purchase this year of British AI start-up Deep Mind. But although Google set up an ethics panel following the Deep Mind acquisition, outsiders have no idea what the company is doing — nor how much resource goes into controlling the technology rather than developing it as fast as possible. As these technologies develop, lack of public oversight may become a concern.

That said, the risk that computers might one day pose a challenge to humanity should be put in perspective. Scientists may not be able to say with certainty when, or if, machines will match or outperform mankind.

But before the world gets to that point, the drawing together of both human and computer intelligence will almost certainly help to tackle pressing problems that cannot otherwise be solved. The growing ability of computers to crunch enormous quantities of data, for example, will play a huge role in helping humanity tackle climate change and disease over the next few decades. It would be folly to arrest the development of computer technology now — and forgo those benefits — because of risks that lie much further in the future.

There is every reason to be optimistic about AI research. There is no evidence that scientists will struggle to control computers, even at their most advanced stage. But this is a sector in which pioneers must tread carefully — and with their eyes open to the enduring ability of science to surprise us.

请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：

1.According to the author, which one below is not a nightmare that we need to fear of ?

A.Nuclear disaster

B.Asteroid impact

C.AI develops own mind

D.Climate change

答案(1)

2.The word “outperform” in paragraph 6 can be replaced by “_______”.

A.surpass

B.destory

C.equal

D.develop

答案(2)

3.What is the writer's attitude toward artificial intelligence？

A.depressed

B.cynicism

C.upbeat

D.critical

答案(3)

* * *

(1) 答案：D.Climate change

解释：文中提到小行星撞击地球以及核灾难幽灵是这个时代最为流行的“末日恐慌”，而一些科学家则担忧人工智能有朝一日可能会发展出自己的思想并毁灭人类，故也应成为人们恐惧的对象。并没有提到气候变化的危害程度如何。

(2) 答案：A.surpass

解释：原文中所说的“match or outperform mankind” 意味“赶上或超越人类”，选项中只有surpass有“超越”之意。

(3) 答案：C.upbeat

解释：文中最后一段提到“There is every reason to be optimistic about AI research. ”说明作者对人工智能的探索是积极乐观的。