The sunny and the dark side of AI（1）

导读‍

‍近几年人工智能已经成为人们热议的话题，也是世界科技巨头竞相研发的重点科技。《经济学人》认为人工智能是一种颠覆性的科技（disruptive technology）。我们不禁想知道未来人工智能的发展到底会给我们的生活带来什么深刻的变化。人工智能对于我们人类而言究竟是敌还是友？下面我们将读到的这篇经济学人文章或许会给我们带来一些启示。

我们先来看一下文章的标题：The sunny and the dark side of AI， 即人工智能的好的一面和不利的一面。当我们谈到某事物的优缺点时，大家通常会想到哪些词呢？比较大众的一些词， 如the advantages and disadvangtages of sth., the merits and demerits of sth., the pros and cons of sth., the strengths and weaknesses of sth.,还有哪些更新颖的表达呢？

比如文章的标题the sunny and the dark side of AI

我们也可以说 the upside and downside of AI

或者如文章的副标题：AI will mainly be good for business, but mind the pitfalls.

pitfall: n.c. a danger or difficulty, especially one that is hidden or not obvious at first 危险，困难，隐患

或者我们可以这么说： AI is a mixed blessing.

比如2013年10月《经济学人》中有一篇关于世界经济发展过程各国设置贸易壁垒的文章，其中有这么一段是这么写的：

Reginal free-trade deals area mixed blessing. Designed well, they can boost liberalisation, both by cutting barriers in new areas and by supurring action in multilateral talks. Done badly, they may divert rather than expand trade.

mixed blessing：(n. usually singular) something that has advantages and disadvantages 利弊并存之事；祸福参半之事

亦或我们可以这么说：AI is a double-edged sword.

比如2018年5月《经济学人》中有一篇关于美国大力开发页岩气的文章，其标题是这么写的：

The shale boom could provea double-edged swordfor America.

然后副标题随即简明解释了为什么开发页岩气是把双刃剑

Extracting more oil and gas from shale has increased America's influence abroad, but not all for the good.

be a double-edged sword/weapon: to be sth. that has both advantages and disadvantages 既有优点也有缺点；是一把双刃剑

再补充两个常用的搭配：

权衡利弊：weigh up the pros and cons‍

利大于弊：The advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

今天就到这儿了，谢谢大家的关注！