BBC探讨：目前有什么事是人工智能做不到的？

生活在现代，你不可能没听说过“人工智能”这个词。

那究竟，

什么是人工智能？

我们生活里有人工智能吗？

人工智能会取代人带人类吗？

今天的BBC Learning English给大家带来的是关于人工智能的探讨，告诉你一些人工智能的基本常识。

What can't computers do?

音频中涉及的新单词&俚语

artificial intelligence/AI

人工智能（机器模仿人类的行为和智能）

an algorithm

算法（机器解决问题的运算法则）

limitations

局限

take something for granted

理所当然（没有认识到这件事/人的重要性）

to implement

实施，执行

cutting edge

最前沿的

音频中，大家聊天的主要内容：

人工智能是指机器可以学习人类的智慧，通过学习人类的过去经历，从中总结经验和模式，用来解决新的问题。人工智能并不是只存在于科幻电影里，实际上在我们的生活中，已经有很多应用场景借助了AI的技术，比如无人驾驶，医院的诊断自动化系统，学校检查学生论文，网络内容的自动推荐等等。早在1997年，IBM的“深蓝”电脑就战胜了美国的国际象棋大师Garry Kasparov。人工智能的发展让一部分人类觉得很害怕，目前人工智能还有什么不能做的吗？剑桥大学信息工程的教授Zoubin Bharhramani在节目中说到，很多人觉得走路，捡东西，认出自己的妈妈是自然而然的事情，没有仔细想过人为什么会做到这些。对于电脑来说，要自然而然的做到这些事是非常难的，这也是目前人工智能最前沿的研究方向。所以，尽管深蓝早在1997年就可以打败国际象棋高手，但是直到现在，它也无法真正自己拿起棋子去下棋。

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附录：音频字幕

Neil

Welcome to 6 Minute English, where we bring you an intelligent topic and six related items of vocabulary. I’m Neil.

Tim

And I’m Tim. And today we’re talking about AI – or Artificial Intelligence.

Neil

Artificial Intelligence is the ability of machines to copy human intelligent behaviour – for example, an intelligent machine can learn from its own mistakes, and make decisions based on what’s happened in the past.

Tim

There’s a lot of talk about AI these days, Neil, but it’s still just science fiction, isn’t it?

Neil

That’s not true – AI is everywhere. Machine thinking is in our homes, offices, schools and hospitals. Computer algorithms are helping us drive our cars. They’re diagnosing what’s wrong with us in hospitals. They’re marking student essays… They’re telling us what to read on our smartphones…

Tim

Well, that really does sound like science fiction – but it’s happening already, you say, Neil?

Neil

It’s definitely happening, Tim. And an algorithm, by the way, is a set of steps a computer follows in order to solve a problem. So can you tell me what was the name of the computer which famously beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov using algorithms in 1997? Was it…

a) Hal,

b) Alpha 60 or

c) Deep Blue?

Tim

I’ll say Deep Blue. Although I’m just guessing.

Neil

Was it an educated guess, Tim?

Tim

I know a bit about chess…

Neil

An educated guess is based on knowledge and experience and is therefore likely to be correct. Well, we’ll find out later on how educated your guess was in this case, Tim!

Tim

Indeed. But getting back to AI and what machines can do – are they any good at solving real-life problems? Computers think in zeros and ones don’t they? That sounds like a pretty limited language when it comes to life experience!

Neil

You would be surprised to what those zeroes and ones can do, Tim. Although you’re right that AI does have its limitations at the moment. And if something has limitations there’s a limit on what it can do or how good it can be.

Tim

OK – well now might be a good time to listen to Zoubin Bharhramani, Professor of Information Engineering at the University of Cambridge and deputy director of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence. He’s talking about what limitations AI has at the moment.

INSERT

Zoubin Bharhramani, Professor of Information Engineering at the University of Cambridge and deputy director of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence

I think it’s very interesting how many of the things that we take for granted – we humans take for granted – as being sort of things we don’t even think about like how do we walk, how do we reach, how do we recognize our mother. You know, all these things. When you start to think how to implement them on a computer, you realize that it’s those things that are incredibly difficult to get computers to do, and that’s where the current cutting edge of research is.

Neil

If we take something for granted we don’t realise how important something is.

Tim

You sometimes take me for granted, I think, Neil.

Neil

No – I never take you for granted, Tim! You’re far too important for that!

Tim

Good to hear! So things we take for granted are doing every day tasks like walking, picking something up, or recognizing somebody. We implement – or perform – these things without thinking – Whereas it’s cutting edge research to try and program a machine to do them.

Neil

Cutting edge means very new and advanced. It’s interesting isn't it, that over ten years ago a computer beat a chess grand master – but the same computer would find it incredibly difficult to pick up a chess piece.

Tim

I know. It’s very strange. But now you’ve reminded me that we need the answer to today’s question.

Neil

Which was: What was the name of the computer which famously beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997? Now, you said Deep Blue, Tim, and … that was the right answer!

Tim

You see, my educated guess was based on knowledge and experience!

Neil

Or maybe you were just lucky. So, the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue played against US world chess champion Garry Kasparov in two chess matches. The first match was played in Philadelphia in 1996 and was won by Kasparov. The second was played in New York City in 1997 and won by Deep Blue. The 1997 match was the first defeat of a reigning world chess champion by a computer under tournament conditions.

Tim

Let’s go through the words we learned today. First up was ‘artificial intelligence’ or AI – the ability of machines to copy human intelligent behaviour.

Neil

“There are AI programs that can write poetry.”

Tim

Do you have any examples you can recite?

Neil

Afraid I don’t! Number two – an algorithm is a set of steps a computer follows in order to solve a problem. For example, “Google changes its search algorithm hundreds of times every year.”

Tim

The adjective is algorithmic – for example, “Google has made many algorithmic changes.”

Neil

Number three – if something has ‘limitations’ – there’s a limit on what it can do or how good it can be. “Our show has certain limitations – for example, it’s only six minutes long!”

Tim

That’s right – there’s only time to present six vocabulary items. Short but sweet!

Neil

And very intelligent, too. OK, the next item is ‘take something for granted’ – which is when we don’t realise how important something is.

Tim

“We take our smart phones for granted these days – but before 1995 hardly anyone owned one.”

Neil

Number five – ‘to implement’ – means to perform a task, or take action.

Tim

“Neil implemented some changes to the show.”

Neil

The final item is ‘cutting edge’ – new and advanced – “This software is cutting edge.”

Tim

“The software uses cutting edge technology.”

Neil

OK – that’s all we have time for on today’s cutting edge show. But please check out our Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube pages.

Tim

Bye-bye!

Neil

Goodbye!