BBC英语｜Rise of the machines
提示：点击↑上方"小芳老师"免费关注哦
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English.I’m Dan and joining me today is Neil. Hi Neil.
欢迎收听六分钟英语。我是丹，今天和我一起主持节目的是尼尔。你好，尼尔。
Hi Dan. What’s with the protective gear and helmet?
你好，丹。你怎么带着防护装置和头盔呢？
I’m just getting ready for the inevitable rise of the machines.That’s the takeover of the world by artificial intelligence, or AI, which some people predict will happen.
我在为不可避免的机器崛起做准备。也就是人工智能会占领世界，一些人预测这将会发生。
Inevitable means cannot be avoided or stopped. Rise of the machines? What do you mean?
不可避免的是指不能回避或停止的。机器的崛起？这是什么意思？
It’s our topic in this 6 Minute English.We’ll be talking about that, giving you six related pieces of vocabulary and, of course, our regular quiz question.
这是我们本期六分钟英语的话题。我们一会要讨论这个话题，提供六个相关的单词，当然还有我们常规的问题。
That’s the first thing you’ve said that makes any sense. What’s the question?
这是你说的第一件正经事。问题是什么？
The word robot as we use it today was first used in a 1920’s Czech play Rossum’s Universal Robots.But before this, what was its original meaning?a) forced labour b) metal man c) heartless thing
我们今天使用的“机器”一词，首次出现于1920年的捷克戏剧《罗素姆的全能机械人》。但这之前，它起初的意思是什么呢？a) 强迫劳动，b)金属人，c) 无情的东西
I will go for a) forced labour.
我选a) 强迫劳动。
We’ll find out if you were right or not later in the show.
之后我们再看你回答得是否正确。
OK Dan. Tell me what’s going on.
好的，告诉我接下来做什么。
I saw a news article written by BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones about the recent CES technology show in Las Vegas.He interviewed David Hanson, founder of Hanson Robotics, who said it was his ambition to achieve an AI that can beat humans at any intellectual task.
我最近看到BBC科技记者罗里·凯兰-琼斯写的一篇新闻报道，关于拉斯维加斯最近的消费电子展。他采访了大卫·汉森，汉森机器人技术公司的创始人，他说他的志向是创造一个人工智能，能够在任何智力任务上打败人类。
Surely it’s a good thing!Better AI and robotics could take over many of the jobs that we don’t want to do, or that are so important to get 100% right… like air traffic control. We’d never have another plane crash.It would be infallible because it would be so clever.
当然，这是件好事。更好的人工智能和机器人能够接管很多我们不想做的工作，或者很重要需要百分之百正确的工作，例如空中交通管制。我们就不会有任何飞机事故了。人工智能不会犯错，因为它太聪明了。
Infallible means never failing. And that’s what bothers me.What happens when its intelligence surpasses ours? Why should it do what we want it to do?
infallible是指从来不会失败。这也让我很苦恼。当人工智能的智商超过我们的智商，会发生什么？它为什么还会做我们想要它做的事呢？
To surpass something is to do or be better than it. Dan, you’ve been watching too many movies. Robots fighting humanity is a popular theme. Guess what… humanity often wins.And besides, we would programme the computer to be benevolent.
超过某物是指比某物做的好。丹，你看太多电影了。机器人对抗人类是一个很流行的话题。猜猜发生什么，人类总会获胜的。而且，我们可以用电脑编程让它变得友善。
Benevolent means kind and helpful. But that’s just it, once the intelligence becomes sentient, or able to think for itself, who knows what it will do. We humans are not exactly perfect, you know.What happens if it decides that it is better than us and wants us out of the way?
Benevolent是指善良的，有用的。但一旦人工智能有了自己的意识，或者说能够自己思考，知道自己将要做什么。我们人类不总是完美的，你知道的。如果它认为它比我们好，想要我们不挡道，会发生什么？
Don’t worry. Asimov thought of that. Isaac Asimov was an American science fiction writer who, among other things, wrote about robots.He came up with three laws that every robot would have to follow to stop it from acting against humanity. So we’re safe!
不要担心。阿西莫夫考虑过这一点了。艾萨克·阿西莫夫是一名美国科幻小说作者，写了很多关于机器人和其他东西的小说。他提出了三条每一个机器人应当遵守，阻止其抵抗人性的法律。所以我们是安全的！
I’m not so sure. A sentient robot could make up its own mind about how to interpret the laws.For example, imagine if we created an AI system to protect all of humanity.
我不太确定。一个有自我意识的机器人会下决心如何诠释法律。例如，想象一下，如果我们创造一个能够保护所有人类的人工智能系统。
Well, that’s great! No more war. No more murder. No more fighting.
那很棒啊！再没有了战争！再没有杀戮！再没有争斗！
Do you really think that humans can stop fighting? What if the AI decides that the only way to stop us from hurting ourselves and each other is to control everything we do,so it takes over to protect us. Then we would lose our freedom to a thing that we created that is infallible and more intelligent than we are! That’s the end, Neil!
你真的认为人类可以停止争斗？那如果人工智能认为阻止我们自相残杀的唯一方式就是控制我们做的所有事，所以它们就会接管主动权来保护我们，那怎么办？那么，我们就会因为我们所创造出的无懈可击，比我们更智能的东西失去自由！那就是结局，尼尔！
I think that’s a little far-fetched, which means difficult to believe.I’m sure others don’t think that way.
我觉得这有点牵强，就是说很难相信。我认为其他人不会这么想。
OK. Let’s hear what the Learning English team say when I ask them if they are worried that AI and robots could take over the world.
好的。我们来听听英语学习团队是怎么回答我所提问的是否担心人工智能和机器人接管世界这个问题的。
Well, it’s possible, but unlikely.There will come a point where our technology will be limited – probably before real AI is achieved.
有这个可能性，但不可能。会有一个点，我们的技术是首先的，可能在真正的人工智能发明之前。
Never in a million years.First of all we’d programme them so that they couldn’t, and secondly we’d beat them anyway.Haven’t you ever seen a movie?
一百万年内不可能。首先是我们编程创造的它们，所以不可能，第二，我们总会打败它们的。你没有看过电影吗？
I totally think it could happen. We only have to make a robot that’s smart enough to start thinking for itself. After that, who knows what it might do.
我完全相信这是有可能发生的。我们只是创造了一个足够聪明，能够开始自我思考的机器人。之后，谁也不知道它会做什么。
A mixed bag of opinions there, Dan. It seems you aren’t alone.
五花八门的看法。看来不只是你那么想。
Nope. But I don’t exactly have an army of support either. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
不是。但我也并不是有很多人支持。我猜我们只能拭目以待了。
Speak for yourself. I’ve waited long enough – for our quiz question that is.
代表你自己就行了。我等问题的答案已经等很久了。
Oh yeah! I asked you what the original meaning of the word robot was before it was used in its modern form.a) forced labour b) metal man c) heartless thing
是的。我问你机器人在现代使用之前的最初意思是什么。a) 强迫劳动，b)金属人，c) 无情的东西。
And I said a) forced labour.
我选的是强迫劳动。
And you were… right!
你答对了！
Shall we take a look at the vocabulary then?
接下来我们看一看单词吧？
OK. First we had inevitable.If something is inevitable then it cannot be avoided or stopped. Can you think of something inevitable, Neil?
首先，我们提到不可避免的。某事如果是不可避免的，那就是说它不能被回避或阻止。你能想到一件不可避免的事吗，尼尔？
It is inevitable that one day the Sun will stop burning. Then we had infallible, which means never failing. Give us an example, Dan.
有一天太阳会停止发热，这是不可避免的。接下来我们提到绝无错误的，是指永远不会失败。给我们一个例子吧，丹。
The vaccine for small pox is infallible. The natural spread of that disease has been completely stopped.After that was surpasses. If something surpasses something else then it becomes better than it.
用疫苗治疗天花是不会错的。这种疾病的自然传播已经完全被阻止了。在那之后我们提到超过。如果某物超过了其他事物，那么它变得更好了。
Many parents across the world hope that their children will surpass them in wealth, status or achievement.After that we heard benevolent, which means kind and helpful. Name a person famous for being benevolent, Dan.
全世界的大多数父母都希望他们的孩子能够在财富、地位或成就上超越自己。之后我们提到友善的，是指善良的，有益处的。提一个因友善而闻名的人吧，丹。
Father Christmas is a benevolent character. After that we heard sentient. If something is sentient, it is able to think for itself.
圣诞老人就是一个友善的人物。下一个单词是有意识的。如果某物是有意识的，就是说它能够自己思考。
Indeed. Many people wonder about the possibility of sentient life on other planets.Finally we heard far-fetched, which means difficult to believe.Like that far-fetched story you told me the other day about being late because of a dragon, Dan.
没错。很多人都在想其他星球上有意识的生命存在的可能性。最后我们提到牵强的，是指很难相信。就像你那天告诉我你迟到是因为一条龙一样牵强的故事。
I swear it was real! It had big sharp teeth and everything!
我发誓那是真的！它有大而尖锐的牙齿！
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that’s the end of this 6 Minute English.Don’t forget to check out our Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages.See you next time!
好的，好的。今天的六分钟英语就到这里。别忘了登陆我们的 Facebook， Twitter，和 YouTube主页。下期再会！
Bye!
再见！