2019年考研英语一阅读 Text 3 原文翻译及答案解析

This year marks exactly two centuries since the publication of "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus," by Mary Shelley. Even before the invention of the electric light bulb, the author produced a remarkable work of speculative fiction that would foreshadow many ethical questions to be raised by technologies yet to come.

今年恰逢玛丽·雪莱所著《弗兰肯斯坦；或现代普罗米修斯》出版两个世纪。甚至在电灯泡发明之前，作者就创作了一部杰出的科幻小说，预示了未来技术将引发的许多伦理问题。

Today the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) raises fundamental questions: "What is intelligence, identity, or consciousness? What makes humans humans? "

如今，人工智能（AI）的快速发展提出了根本性问题：“什么是智能、身份或意识？是什么使人类成为人类？”

What is being called artificial general intelligence, machines that would imitate the way humans think, continues to evade scientists. Yet humans remain fascinated by the idea of robots that would look, move, and respond like humans, similar to those recently depicted on popular sci-fi TV series such as "Westworld" and "Humans."

所谓的通用人工智能，即模仿人类思维方式的机器，仍然让科学家们难以企及。然而，人类依然对那些外观、动作和反应都像人类的机器人着迷，类似于最近在热门科幻电视剧《西部世界》和《Humans》中描绘的那样。

Just how people think is still far too complex to be understood, let alone reproduced, says David Eagleman, a Stanford University neuroscientist. "We are just in a situation where there are no good theories explaining what consciousness actually is and how you could ever build a machine to get there."

斯坦福大学神经科学家大卫·伊格曼说，人类思维的方式仍然过于复杂，无法理解，更不用说复制了。“我们目前的情况是，没有好的理论解释意识到底是什么，以及如何才能制造出具有意识的机器。”

But that doesn't mean crucial ethical issues involving AI aren't at hand. The coming use of autonomous vehicles, for example, poses thorny ethical questions. Human drivers sometimes must make split-second decisions. Their reactions may be a complex combination of instant reflexes, input from past driving experiences, and what their eyes and ears tell them in that moment. AI "vision" today is not nearly as sophisticated as that of humans. And to anticipate every imaginable driving situation is a difficult programming problem.

但这并不意味着涉及AI的关键伦理问题迫在眉睫。例如，自动驾驶汽车即将投入使用的事实引发了棘手的伦理问题。人类驾驶员有时必须做出瞬间决定。他们的反应可能是即时反射、过往驾驶经验的输入以及那一刻眼耳所见所闻的复杂结合。如今，AI的“视觉”远不如人类精密。而预见每一种可能的驾驶情况是一个困难的编程问题。

Whenever decisions are based on masses of data, "you quickly get into a lot of ethical questions," notes Tan Kiat How, chief executive of a Singapore-based agency that is helping the government develop a voluntary code for the ethical use of AI. Along with Singapore, other governments and mega-corporations are beginning to establish their own guidelines. Britain is setting up a data ethics center. India released its AI ethics strategy this spring.

新加坡一家帮助政府制定AI道德使用自愿准则的机构首席执行官陈杰豪指出，每当决策基于大量数据时，“你很快就会陷入许多伦理问题”。除了新加坡，其他政府和大型公司也开始建立自己的准则。英国正在设立数据伦理中心。印度今年春天发布了其AI伦理战略。

On June 7 Google pledged not to "design or deploy AI" that would cause "overall harm," or to develop AI-directed weapons or use AI for surveillance that would violate international norms. It also pledged not to deploy AI whose use would violate international laws or human rights.

6月7日，谷歌承诺不会“设计或部署”会造成“整体危害”的AI，也不会开发AI导向武器或使用AI进行违反国际准则的监视。它还承诺不会部署其使用会违反国际法或人权的AI。

While the statement is vague, it represents one starting point. So does the idea that decisions made by AI systems should be explainable, transparent, and fair.

尽管声明很模糊，但它代表了一个起点。AI系统做出的决策应当可解释、透明和公平的想法也是如此。

To put it another way: How can we make sure that the thinking of intelligent machines reflects humanity's highest values? Only then will they be useful servants and not Frankenstein's out-of-control monster.

换句话说：我们如何确保智能机器的思维反映人类的最高价值观？只有这样，它们才能成为有用的仆人，而不是弗兰肯斯坦失控的怪物。