In her new book Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be, Diane Coyle, an economist at Cambridge University, argues that the digital economy requires new ways of thinking about progress. “Whatever we mean by the economy growing, by things getting better, the gains will have to be more evenly shared than in the recent past,” she writes. “An economy of tech millionaires or billionaires and gig workers, with middle-income jobs undercut by automation, will not be politically sustainable.”
Improving living standards and increasing prosperity for more people will require greater use of digital technologies to boost productivity in various sectors, including health care and construction, says Coyle. But people can’t be expected to embrace the changes if they’re not seeing the benefits—if they’re just seeing good jobs being destroyed.
In a recent interview with MIT Technology Review, Coyle said she fears that tech’s inequality problem could be a roadblock to deploying AI. “We’re talking about disruption,” she says. “These are transformative technologies that change the ways we spend our time every day, that change business models that succeed.” To make such “tremendous changes,” she adds, you need social buy-in.
Instead, says Coyle, resentment is simmering among many as the benefits are perceived to go to elites in a handful of prosperous cities.
According to the Brookings Institution, a short list of eight American cities that included San Francisco, San Jose, Boston, and Seattle had roughly 38% of all tech jobs by 2019. New AI technologies are particularly concentrated: Brookings’s Mark Muro and Sifan Liu estimate that just 15 cities account for two-thirds of the AI assets and capabilities in the United States.
The dominance of a few cities in the invention and commercialization of AI means that geographical disparities in wealth will continue to soar. Not only will this foster political and social unrest, but it could, as Coyle suggests, hold back the sorts of AI technologies needed for regional economies to grow.
Part of the solution could lie in somehow loosening the stranglehold that Big Tech has on defining the AI agenda. That will likely take increased federal funding for research independent of the tech giants.
A more immediate response is to broaden our digital imaginations to conceive of AI technologies that don’t simply replace jobs but expand opportunities in the sectors that different parts of the country care most about, like health care, education, and manufacturing.
1. Coyle argues in her new book that economic growth should ______.
2. According to Paragraph 2, digital technologies should be used to ______.
3. What does Coyle fear about transformative technologies?
4. Several American cities are mentioned to show ______.
5. With regard to Coyle’s concern, the author suggests ______.
问题1选项
A.give rise to innovations
B.diversify career choices
C.benefit people equally
D.be promoted forcefully
问题2选项
A.bring about instant prosperity
B.reduce people's workload
C.raise overall work efficiency
D.enhance cross-sector cooperation
问题3选项
A.They may affect work-life balance.
B.They may be impractical to deploy.
C.They may incur huge expenditure.
D.They may be unwelcome to the public.
问题4选项
A.the uneven distribution of AI technology in the US
B.the disappointing prospect of tech jobs in the US
C.the fast progress of US regional economics
D.the increasing significance of US AI assets
问题5选项
A.raising funds to start new AI projects
B.encourage collaboration in AI research
C.guarding against the side effects of AI
D.redefining the role of AI technologies
第1题:C
第2题:C
第3题:D
第4题:A
第5题:D
第1题:
【选项释义】
Coyle argues in her new book that economic growth should ________. 科伊尔在其新书中主张，经济增长应________。
A. give rise to innovations A. 带来创新
B. diversify career choices B. 使职业选择多样化
C. benefit people equally C. 使人们平等受益
D. be promoted forcefully D. 被大力推动
【答案】C
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Coyle可以定位到文章第一段倒数第二句Whatever we mean by the economy growing, by things getting better, the gains will have to be more evenly shared than in the recent past（无论我们所说的经济增长、情况好转是什么意思，收益都必须比最近更加平均地分配），说明科伊尔认为经济增长应该比过去更加平均分配收益。因此C选项“使人们平等受益”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“带来创新”，B选项“使职业选择多样化”和D选项“被大力推动”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
According to Paragraph 2, digital technologies should be used to ________. 根据第二段，数字技术应该用来________。
A. bring about instant prosperity A. 带来即时繁荣
B. reduce people’s workload B. 减轻人们的工作量
C. raise overall work efficiency C. 提高整体工作效率
D. enhance cross-sector cooperation D. 加强跨部门合作
【答案】C
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词digital technologies可以定位到文章第二段第一句Improving living standards and increasing prosperity for more people will require greater use of digital technologies to boost productivity in various sectors, including health care and construction, says Coyle.（科伊尔说，要提高生活水平，让更多人富裕起来，就需要更多地利用数字技术来提高各行各业的生产力，包括医疗保健和建筑业。）说明数字技术应该用来在不同领域中提高生产力。因此C选项“提高整体工作效率”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“带来即时繁荣”，B选项“减轻人们的工作量”和D选项“加强跨部门合作”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
What does Coyle fear about transformative technologies? 科伊尔对变革性技术的担心是什么？
A. They may affect work-life balance. A. 它们可能会影响工作与生活的平衡。
B. They may be impractical to deploy. B. 部署它们可能不切实际。
C. They may incur huge expenditure. C. 它们可能会产生巨额开支。
D. They may be unwelcome to the public. D. 它们可能不受公众欢迎。
【答案】D
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词transformative technologies可以定位到文章第三段第二、三、四句“We’re talking about disruption,” she says. “These are transformative technologies that change the ways we spend our time every day, that change business models that succeed.” To make such “tremendous changes,” she adds, you need social buy-in.（她说：“我们谈论的是颠覆。这些都是变革性的技术，它们改变了我们每天花时间的方式，改变了成功的商业模式。”她补充说：“要想做出这样的‘巨大改变’，就需要社会的支持。”），说明科伊尔担心变革性技术可能引发颠覆，改变人们日常生活方式和成功商业模式，难以受到公众欢迎。因此D选项“它们可能不受公众欢迎。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“它们可能会影响工作与生活的平衡。”，B选项“部署它们可能不切实际。”和C选项“它们可能会产生巨额开支。”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
Several American cities are mentioned to show ________. 文中提到几个美国城市，以说明________。
A. the uneven distribution of AI technologies in the US A. 人工智能技术在美国的分布不均衡
B. the disappointing prospect of tech jobs in the US B. 美国科技工作的前景令人失望
C. the fast progress of US regional economics C. 美国地区经济的快速发展
D. the increasing significance of US AI assets D. 美国的人工智能资产越来越重要
【答案】A
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词American cities可以定位到文章第五段第一句According to the Brookings Institution, a short list of eight American cities that included San Francisco, San Jose, Boston, and Seattle had roughly 38% of all tech jobs by 2019.（根据布鲁金斯学会的数据，到2019年，包括旧金山、圣何塞、波士顿和西雅图在内的八座美国城市将拥有大约38%的科技工作岗位。），说明在2019年，仅有八个美国城市就占据了大约38%的所有科技岗位，表明了人工智能技术在美国的分布不均。因此A选项“人工智能技术在美国的分布不均衡”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“美国科技工作的前景令人失望”，C选项“美国地区经济的快速发展”和D选项“美国的人工智能资产越来越重要”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
With regard to Coyle’s concern, the author suggests ________. 对于科伊尔的担忧，作者建议________。
A. raising funds to start new AI projects A. 筹集资金启动新的人工智能项目
B. encourage collaboration in AI research B. 鼓励人工智能研究方面的合作
C. guarding against the side effects of AI C. 防止人工智能的副作用
D. redefining the role of AI technologies D. 重新定义人工智能技术的作用
【答案】D
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词the author suggests可以定位到文章第七段第一、二句Part of the solution could lie in somehow loosening the stranglehold that Big Tech has on defining the AI agenda. That will likely take increased federal funding for research independent of the tech giants.（部分解决方案可能在于以某种方式放松大型科技公司对人工智能议程定义的束缚。这可能需要联邦政府增加对独立于科技巨头的研究的资助。），说明作者建议减轻大型科技公司对人工智能定义的控制，并提出可能需要增加对不依赖科技巨头的研究的联邦资助，即重新定义人工智能技术的角色。因此D选项“重新定义人工智能技术的作用”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“筹集资金启动新的人工智能项目”，B选项“鼓励人工智能研究方面的合作”和C选项“防止人工智能的副作用”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
【参考译文】
剑桥大学经济学家黛安·科伊尔在她的新书《齿轮与怪物：经济学是什么，以及它应该是什么》中指出，数字经济需要新的进步思维方式。她写道：“无论我们所说的经济增长是什么意思，事情变得更好是什么意思，收益的分享都必须比过去更加平均。”一个由科技百万富翁或亿万富翁和临时工组成的经济，中等收入的工作岗位被自动化削弱，在政治上是不可持续的。
科伊尔说，要提高生活水平，让更多人富裕起来，就需要更多地利用数字技术来提高各行各业的生产力，包括医疗保健和建筑业。但是，如果人们看不到这些变化带来的好处——如果他们只是看到好工作被毁掉，就不能指望他们接受这些变化。
在最近接受《麻省理工科技评论》采访时，科伊尔说，她担心科技的不平等问题会成为部署人工智能的障碍。她说：“我们谈论的是颠覆。这些都是变革性的技术，它们改变了我们每天花时间的方式，改变了成功的商业模式。”她补充说，要想做出这样的“巨大改变”，就需要社会的支持。
科伊尔说，相反，由于人们认为这些好处被少数几个繁荣城市的精英们获得，许多人的不满情绪正在酝酿。
根据布鲁金斯学会的数据，到2019年，包括旧金山、圣何塞、波士顿和西雅图在内的八座美国城市将拥有大约38%的科技工作岗位。人工智能新技术尤其集中： 布鲁金斯的马克·穆罗和刘思帆估计，仅15个城市就占了美国人工智能资产和能力的三分之二。
少数几个城市在人工智能的发明和商业化方面占据主导地位，这意味着地理上的贫富差距将继续扩大。这不仅会引发政治和社会动荡，而且正如科伊尔所言，还会阻碍地区经济增长所需的人工智能技术的发展。
部分解决方案可能在于以某种方式放松大科技公司对人工智能议程定义的控制。这可能需要联邦政府增加对独立于科技巨头的研究的资助。
更直接的应对措施是拓宽我们的数字想象力，设想人工智能技术不仅能取代工作岗位，还能在美国不同地区最关心的领域拓展机会，如医疗保健、教育和制造业。
【出处】《麻省理工科技评论》2022.4.19
