人工智能会成为威胁吗?Is Artificial Intelligence a Threat? | 外刊精读
发布于 2021-10-12 13:42
这期的文章是关于人工智能的讨论。作者提出了这样的论点：世界毁灭可能不是因为人工智能想要统治世界这种科幻电影中老套的设定，或许仅仅是因为机器人想要收集更多的回形针。 ①When the world ends, it may not be by fire or ice or an evil robot overlord. Our demise may come at the hands of a superintelligence that just wants more paper clips.世界可能不是在熊熊大火、冰封万里或者邪恶的机器人霸主这样的场景中毁灭。或许仅仅是超级智能想收集更多的回形针导致人类灭亡。文章首先引用哲学家伯斯特伦的话表明观点，或许不像电影小说中描绘的那样，机器人占领世界或者自然灾害导致人类毁灭，仅仅是因为超级智能想收集更多的回形针。 demise表示the end or death of something:终止；死亡。表死亡、消亡类意思的单词还有perish、expire，expire还可表示到期、失效，常说的保质期就是expiration date。句中的come at the hands of就相当于be caused by。②So says Nick Bostrom, a philosopher who founded and directs the Future of Humanity Institute, in the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford. He created the “paper-clip maximizer” thought experiment to expose flaws in how we conceive of superintelligence. Spurred by science fiction and pop culture, we assume that the main superintelligence-gone-wrong scenario features a hostile organization programming software to conquer the world. 尼克·博斯特伦(Nick Bostrom)这样说到。他是牛津大学马丁学院的一名哲学家，他创立并负责指导人类未来研究所。他创造了“回形针最大化者”这一思想实验，以揭示我们对超级智能构想中存在的缺陷。受科幻小说和流行文化的影响，我们认为超级智能失控的场景一般是这样子的：某个敌对组织编制程序来征服世界。 So says Nick Bostrom, a philosopher who founded and directs the Future of Humanity Institute, in the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford. He created the “paper-clip maximizer” thought experiment to expose flaws in how we conceive of superintelligence.So says Nick Bostrom为倒装句，正常语序即Nick Bostrom says so，倒装也是为了后面方便接同位语说明人物身份。他创立并指导（direct）人类未来研究所。他创造了“回形针最大化者”的思想实验，目的是expose flaws in how we conceive of superintelligence。 flaw的英文解释为A flaw in something such as a theory or argument is a mistake in it, which causes it to be less effective or valid（理论或论点中的）欠缺。其形容词为flawed有缺陷的，比如我们可以说： The plan proposed by him is fatally flawed from the start.他提出的计划从一开始就有致命缺陷。conceive of表示to have a conception：构想。conceive除表示构思、设想外，还可表示怀孕，如conceive a child。flaws in how we conceive of superintelligence即我们对超级智能的构想方面的不足之处。 来看这一句： Spurred by science fiction and pop culture, we assume that the main superintelligence-gone-wrong scenario features a hostile organization programming software to conquer the world.受科幻小说和流行文化的影响，我们认为超级智能失控的场景一般是这样子的：某个敌对组织编制程序来征服世界。Spurred by science fiction and pop culture为过去分词短语作原因状语，spur此处表示激励，促进。其名词表示马刺(通常是在骑士的鞋跟上装置一根小刺，骑马时以刺侧击马腹，马觉疼痛，故加速冲刺，通常不会太锐利，避免伤害马)，作动词可表示用马刺策马前进，这样就很形象地记住了spur表激励，促进的意思了。assume此处表示to take as true，等于suppose。assume还可表示承担、担任的意思，比如： assume responsibility承担责任 assume the office of chairman担任主席职务superintelligence-gone-wrong为复合形容词，平时阅读中我们也会见到很多这类形容词，基本上根据其构成的单词就能猜出意思，如： heart-broken心碎的never-to-be-forgotten忘不了的 features此处不是名词，而是动词，表示以...为特征，其后接名词。a hostile organization programming software to conquer the world是一个动名词短语，在这里就充当了一个名词的作用。即我们设想的场景以features后面接的这一名词性短语为特征：某个敌对组织编制程序来征服世界。③Imagine a machine programmed with the seemingly harmless, and ethically neutral, goal of getting as many paper clips as possible. First it collects them. Then. realizing that it could get more clips if it were smarter, it tries to improve its own algorithm to maximize computing power and collecting abilities. Unrestrained, its power grows by leaps and bounds, until it will do anything to reach its goal: collect paper clips, yes, but also buy paper clips, steal paper clips, perhaps transform all of earth into a paper-clip factory. 设想一台机器被设定了这样的目标程序：收集尽可能多的回形针。这一目标看似无害，道德中立。起初，这个机器会去收集回形针。在意识到自己提高智商可以收集到更多的回形针后，它会努力提升自己的算法，以使得自己的算力和收集能力达到最大。如果不受约束，它的能力会突飞猛进。最终，为了收集回形针它会无所不用其极：收集回形针（当然还会这样做）、去商店买、偷窃、甚至把整个地球建成回形针工厂。 Imagine a machine programmed with the seemingly harmless, and ethically neutral, goal of getting as many paper clips as possible. seemingly harmless即看似无害的，ethically为ethical的副词，ethical表示道德的，伦理的，其名词为ethic n.伦理，道德。注意区分ethical和ethnic a.种族的。我们常说的全国各族人民就可以表达为：Chinese people of all ethnic groups。 再看这一句：Unrestrained, its power grows by leaps and bounds, until it will do anything to reach its goal如果不受约束，它的能力会突飞猛进。最终，为了收集回形针它会无所不用其极Unrestrained此处为过去分词短语作条件状语，其实就相当于：If the machine's power is unrestrained。by leaps and bounds表示突飞猛进地。比如，我们可以说：Manufacturing industry of this country developed by leaps and bounds.这个国家的制造业突飞猛进。 好了，最后总结一下： 终结，死亡类意思的单词有: demise、perish、expire 注意区分ethnic和ethical assume表臆测、承担、担任的意思 短语by leaps and bounds突飞猛进地
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