Mention artificial intelligence, and most people will think of robots. But a more fitting image may be that of Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, transitions and endings, who has two faces looking in opposite directions. On one side are the positive changes that Al will bring, enabling people to achieve more, far more quickly, by using technology to enhance their existing skills. Recruiters (招聘人員)will be able to pinpoint the best candidates more easily, and customer-service staff will be able to handle queries faster.

　　Consumers, too, will benefit from Al-enhanced services such as personalised recommendations and faster and more efficient delivery, as well as from radical changes in industries like health care and transport that could lead to new drug discoveries and treatments and safer ways to move around. Look the other way, though, and there are plenty of potential pitfalls (陷阱).Technological change always causes disruption,

　　but Al is likely to have a bigger impact than anything since the advent of computers, and its consequences could be far more disruptive. Being both powerful and relatively cheap, it will spread faster than computers did and touch every industry.

　　In the years ahead, Al will raise three big questions for bosses and governments. One is the effect on jobs. Although chief executives publicly extol the broad benefits Al will bring, their main interest lies in cutting costs. The McKinsey Global Institute reckons that by 2030 up to 375m people, or 14% of the global workforce, could have their jobs automated away. Bosses will need to decide whether they are prepared to offer and pay for retraining, and whether they will give time off for it. Many companies say they are all for workers developing new skills, but not at the employer's expense.

　　A second important question is how to protect privacy as Al spreads. The internet has already made it possible to track people's digital behaviour in minute detail. Al will offer even better tools for businesses to monitor consumers and employees, both online and in the physical world. Consumers are sometimes happy to go along with this if it results in personalised service or tailored promotions. But Al is bound to bring privacy violations that are seen as outrageous. Law-enforcement officials around the world will use Al to spot criminals, but may also snoop on ordinary citizens. New rules will be needed to ensure consensus on what degree of monitoring is reasonable.

　　The third question is about the effect of Al on competition in business. Today many firms are competing to provide Al-enhanced tools to companies. But a technology company that achieves a major breakthrough in artificial intelligence could race ahead of rivals, put others out of business and lessen competition.

　　1. The author regards the Roman God-Janus as the fitting image of Al in that .

　　A) it is the god of beginnings, transitions and endings

　　B) it is one of the most powerful Gods

　　C) the image inspires people to develop the technology of Al

　　D) the two faces represent the merits and demerits of Al

　　2. Which of the following best represents the author's view?

　　A) Both the benefits and harms of Al concern every field.

　　B) The benefits of Al far outweigh its harms.

　　C) Issues arising from the Al need to be tackled urgently.

　　D) The development of Al will be out of control.

　　3. Al will influence the jobs by .

　　A) forcing the workers to receive retraining

　　B) cutting costs by replacing the workers

　　C) bringing broad benefits to the company

　　D) allowing the staff enjoying their breaks

　　4. The word uoutrageous，? ( Line 5, Para. 4) is closest in meaning to .

　　A) acceptable B) defensible

　　C) brutal D) superficial

　　5. Which of the following could be the title for the text?

　　A) Social Transformation Brought by Al

　　B) The Two Sides of Al

　　C) A Counteraction againstthe Development of Al

　　D) Should Artificial Intelligence Be Regulated?

　　答案解析：

　　一提到人工智能, 大多數(shù)人就會想到機(jī)器人。 但更符合的形象可能是羅馬神話中的兩面神杰那斯,杰那斯是掌管開始、過程和結(jié)束的神, (51-1) 腦袋前后長著兩張臉。 一張臉代表的是人工智能帶來的積極變化,能用技術(shù)幫助提高人們現(xiàn)有的技能,以更快的速度實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)。 招聘人員將能夠更容易地找到最適合的候選人,客服人員能更快地處理咨詢事務(wù)。

　　人工智能提高了服務(wù)的質(zhì)量, 提供了更多的個性化服務(wù),以及更快、更高效的商品運(yùn)輸,從而也能讓消費(fèi)者受益。 人工智能還更根本性地改變了醫(yī)療業(yè)和運(yùn)輸業(yè)等行業(yè),這將有助于發(fā)明新的藥物和治療方法,也能讓運(yùn)輸變得更加安全,而消費(fèi)者也將會從中受益。 不過從另一個角度來看( 另一張臉),人工智能有不少

　　潛在的隱患。 技術(shù)變革總會帶來顛覆性的變化,但自從計算機(jī)問世之后,人工智能造成的影響極有可能超過其他任何技術(shù),它帶來的后果可能更具顛覆破壞性。 人工智能功能強(qiáng)大且相對便宜,將會以比計算機(jī)更快的速度傳播,并影響到每一個行業(yè)。

　　在未來幾年,人工智能將給企業(yè)家和政府帶來三大問題。 第一個問題就是對就業(yè)的影響。 盡管首席執(zhí)行官們公開稱贊人工智能將帶來廣泛的收益, 但帶來的主要好處還是降低成本。據(jù)麥肯錫全球研究院估計:到 2030 年,多達(dá)3. 75 億人( 占全球勞動力總數(shù)的 14%) 的工作崗位將被自動化技術(shù)所替代。 老板們將決定是否愿意為職工提供就業(yè)再培訓(xùn)并支付相關(guān)費(fèi)用,以及是否抽出時間為職工提供再就業(yè)培訓(xùn)。 許多企業(yè)表示愿意培訓(xùn)職工,讓其掌握新技能,但費(fèi)用不應(yīng)由企業(yè)承擔(dān)。

　　第二個重要的問題是在人工智能傳播的過程中如何保護(hù)個人隱私。 利用互聯(lián)網(wǎng),已經(jīng)可以從微小的細(xì)節(jié)中追蹤人們操控數(shù)碼設(shè)備的行為。人工智能可以為企業(yè)提供更好的工具,不管是在線上還是線下都可對顧客和雇員進(jìn)行監(jiān)控。 如果企業(yè)通過此為顧客提供個性化服務(wù)或量身定制的促銷活動,顧客有時會欣然接受。 人工智能必定會引起一些可以被視為蠻橫的侵犯隱私的行為。 世界各國的執(zhí)法官員將利用人工智能技術(shù)發(fā)現(xiàn)罪犯,但也可能利用其來窺探普通公民。需要制定新規(guī)則以確保達(dá)成共識:在何種程度的監(jiān)測是合理的。

　　第三個問題是關(guān)于人工智能對商業(yè)競爭方面的影響。 如今很多軟件公司競相為企業(yè)提供人工智能增強(qiáng)工具。 但一家在人工智能領(lǐng)域取得重大突破的科技公司可能會領(lǐng)先于競爭對手, 讓對手破產(chǎn),就此削弱了市場競爭。

　　1. 【答案】 D)

　　【詳解】判斷推理題。 文章第一段提到,更符合人工智能的形象可能是羅馬神話中的兩面神杰那斯,腦袋前后長著兩張臉。 一方面是

　　人工智能帶來的積極變化,另一面是人工智能帶來的潛在危險, 因此可知 D) 為正確選項。 選項 A) “ 它是掌管開始、過程和結(jié)束的神” 雖然為正確事實(shí)但是與人工智能關(guān)系不是很緊密。 選項 B) “ 它是最厲害的神” 和選項 C)“ 它的形象啟發(fā)人們開發(fā)了人工智能”均未在文中提到。

　　2. 【答案】 A)

　　【詳解】判斷推理題。 文章第二段中提到人工智能有諸多好處,它提高了服務(wù)的質(zhì)量,提供了更多的個性化服務(wù),以及更快、更高效的商品運(yùn)輸。 人工智能還更根本性地改變了醫(yī)療業(yè)和運(yùn)輸業(yè)等行業(yè),但是它也有不少潛在的隱患。 它帶來的后果可能更具顛覆破壞性。人工智能功能強(qiáng)大且相對便宜,將會以比計算機(jī)更快的速度傳播,并影響到每一個行業(yè)。因此可知人工智能的好處和危害都非常的巨大,并關(guān)系到方方面面,即選項 A) 為正確選項。 選項 B) “ 人工智能的優(yōu)勢大于劣勢”, 選項 C) “ 人工智能帶來的問題亟待解決”, 選項 D)“ 人工智能的發(fā)展將無法控制” 均未在文中提到。

　　3. 【答案】 B)

　　【詳解】事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。 第三段中提到人工智能對就業(yè)的影響主要還是用機(jī)器和自動化技術(shù)代替人工從而降低成本。 因此可知 B) 為正確選項。 選項 A) “ 逼迫員工接受再培訓(xùn)”, 選項 C)“ 給公司來帶全面的利益”, 選項 D) “ 使員工可以享受假期” 均不符合文意。

　　4.【答案】 C)

　　【詳解】詞匯題。 根據(jù)第四段具體語境和具體事例可知人工智能必定會帶來一些可以被視為蠻橫的侵犯隱私的行為。 因此選項 C) “ 野蠻的” 為正確選項。 選項 A) “ 可接受的”, 選項 B)“ 能防御的”, 選項 D) “ 膚淺的” 均不符合語境。

　　5. 【答案】 B)

　　【詳解】判斷推理題。 通讀全文可知本文章主要講述的是人工智能給人們帶來的好處和危害,尤其是給企業(yè)和政府帶來的一系列問題, 因此可知人工智能具有兩面性,即 B) 為正確選項,能夠概括全文的內(nèi)容。 選項 A) “ 人工智能帶來的社會變革”, 選項 C) “ 對人工智能發(fā)展的抵制”, 選項 D) “ 人工智能是否應(yīng)該被控制” 均不是文章的主要內(nèi)容,因此不能作為標(biāo)題。

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