The AlphaGo programs victory is an example of how smart computers have become. But can artificial intelligence (AI) machines act ethically, meaning can they be honest and fair?
One example of AI is driverless cars. They are already on California roads, so it is not too soon to ask whether we can program a machine to act ethically. As driverless cars improve, they will save lives. They will make fewer mistakes than human drivers do. Sometimes, however, they will face a choice between lives. Should the cars be programmed to avoid hitting a child running across the road, even if that will put their passengers at risk? What about making a sudden turn to avoid a dog? What if the only risk is damage to the car itself, not to the passengers?
Perhaps there will be lessons to learn from driverless cars, but they are not super-intelligent beings. Teaching ethics to a machine even more intelligent than we are will be the bigger challenge.
About the same time as AlphaGo’s triumph, Microsoft’s “chatbot” took a bad turn. The software, named Taylor, was designed to answer messages from people aged 18-24. Taylor was supposed to be able to learn from the messages she received. She was designed to slowly improve her ability to handle conversations, but some people were teaching Taylor racist ideas. When she started saying nice things about Hitler, Microsoft turned her off and deleted her ugliest messages.
AlphaGo’s victory and Taylor’s defeat happened at about the same time. This should be a warning to us. It is one thing to use Al within a game with clear rules and clear goals. It is something very different to use AI in the real world. The unpredictability of the real world may bring to the surface a troubling software problem.
Eric Schmidt is one of the bosses of Google, which owns AlphaGo. He thinks AI will be positive for humans. He said people will be the winner, whatever the outcome. Advances in AI will make human beings smarter, more able and “just better human beings.”
1. What does the author want to show with the example of AlphaGo’s victory?
2. What does Eric Schmidt think of artificial intelligence?
3. What is said to be the bigger challenge facing humans in the AI age?
4. What do we learn about Microsoft’s “chatbot” Taylor?
5. What does the author mean by AI machines acting ethically?
问题1选项
A.Computers will prevail over human beings.
B.Computers have unmatched potential.
C.Computers are man’s potential rivals.
D.Computers can become highly intelligent.
问题2选项
A.It will be far superior to human beings.
B.It will keep improving as time goes by.
C.It will prove to be an asset to human beings.
D.It will be here to stay whatever the outcome.
问题3选项
A.How to make super-intelligent AI machines share human feelings.
B.How to ensure that super-intelligent AI machines act ethically.
C.How to prevent AI machines doing harm to humans.
D.How to avoid being over-dependent on AI machines.
问题4选项
A.She could not distinguish good from bad.
B.She could turn herself off when necessary.
C.She was not made to handle novel situations.
D.She was good at performing routine tasks.
问题5选项
A.They make sensible decisions when facing moral dilemmas.
B.They are capable of predicting possible risks.
C.They weigh the gains and losses before reaching a decision.
D.They sacrifice everything to save human lives.
第1题:D
第2题:C
第3题:B
第4题:A
第5题:A
第1题:
【选项释义】
What does the author want to show with the example of AlphaGo’s victory? 作者想用AlphaGo获胜的例子来说明什么？
A. Computers will prevail over human beings. A. 计算机将战胜人类。
B. Computers have unmatched potential. B. 计算机具有无与伦比的潜力。
C. Computers are man’s potential rivals. C. 计算机是人类的潜在对手。
D. Computers can become highly intelligent. D. 计算机可以变得高度智能。
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】根据题干关键词AlphaGo’s victory定位到文章第一段The AlphaGo programs victory is an example of how smart computers have become.（AlphaGo程序的胜利是展示计算机变得多么智能的一个例子。），由此可知，通过这个例子，作者想要展示的是计算机可以达到高度智能的水平，因此选择D选项。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“计算机将战胜人类”，虽然AlphaGo战胜了人类棋手，但作者的主要意图不是展示计算机将战胜人类，而是强调其智能程度，属于曲解原文；
B选项“计算机具有无与伦比的潜力”，这个选项过于宽泛，AlphaGo的例子主要是用来展示智能水平，而不是计算机的整体前景，属于以偏概全；
C选项“计算机是人类的潜在对手”，这里AlphaGo仅仅是在比赛中赢了人类，并不代表在所有方面都是人类的潜在对手，属于曲解原文，因此排除。
第2题:
【选项释义】
What does Eric Schmidt think of artificial intelligence? 埃里克•施密特如何看待人工智能？
A. It will be far superior to human beings. A. 它将远远优于人类。
B. It will keep improving as time goes by. B. 随着时间的推移，它将不断改进。
C. It will prove to be an asset to human beings. C. 它将被证明是人类的财富。
D. It will be here to stay whatever the outcome. D. 无论结果如何，它都将继续存在。
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Eric Schmidt定位到文章最后一段He thinks AI will be positive for humans. He said people will be the winner, whatever the outcome. Advances in AI will make human beings smarter, more able and “just better human beings.”（他认为人工智能对人类有积极意义。他说，无论结果如何，人类都将是赢家。人工智能的进步会让人类变得更聪明、更能干，“成为更好的人类”。），这表明他认为人工智能将是人类的助力，因此选择C选项。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“它将远远优于人类”，与原文相悖，虽然人工智能可能会在某些方面超越人类，但施密特的观点更侧重于人工智能对人类的积极贡献，而不是超越人类，属于反向干扰；
B选项“随着时间的推移，它将不断改进”，施密特的观点没有提及相关内容，属于无中生有；
D选项“无论结果如何，它都将继续存在”，原文施密特表达的是无论结果如何人类都将是赢家，而不是人工智能是否存在，属于曲解原文，因此排除。
第3题:
【选项释义】
What is said to be the bigger challenge facing humans in the AI age? 据说人类在AI时代面临的最大挑战是什么？
A. How to make super-intelligent AI machines share human feelings. A. 如何让超级智能的人工智能机器分享人类的情感。
B. How to ensure that super-intelligent AI machines act ethically. B. 如何确保超级智能人工智能机器的行为符合道德规范。
C. How to prevent AI machines doing harm to humans. C. 如何防止人工智能机器伤害人类。
D. How to avoid being over-dependent on AI machines. D. 如何避免过度依赖人工智能机器。
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据题干关键词bigger challenge定位到文章第三段Teaching ethics to a machine even more intelligent than we are will be the bigger challenge.（向比我们更智能的机器传授道德规范将是更大的挑战。），由此可知，面对人工智能时代，更大的挑战是如何确保超级智能的AI机器能够学会道德规范，因此选择B选项。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“如何让超级智能的人工智能机器分享人类的情感”，文章没有提到分享情感是挑战，属于无中生有；
C选项“如何防止人工智能机器伤害人类”，文章中明确指出挑战是伦理行为的问题，而不是防止伤害，属于曲解原文；
D选项“如何避免过度依赖人工智能机器”，虽然这可能是一个未来的挑战，但文章中提到的直接挑战是关于伦理行为，属于曲解原文，因此排除。
第4题:
【选项释义】
What do we learn about Microsoft’s “chatbot” Taylor? 关于微软的“聊天机器人”泰勒，我们了解多少？
A. She could not distinguish good from bad. A. 她无法区分好坏。
B. She could turn herself off when necessary. B. 必要时她可以关闭自己。
C. She was not made to handle novel situations. C. 她不善于处理新情况。
D. She was good at performing routine tasks. D. 她擅长完成常规任务。
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据题干关键词“chatbot” Taylor定位到文章第四段Taylor was supposed to be able to learn from the messages she received. She was designed to slowly improve her ability to handle conversations, but some people were teaching Taylor racist ideas.（泰勒本应能够从她收到的信息中学习。她本应慢慢提高自己处理对话的能力，但有些人却在向泰勒灌输种族主义思想。），这表明Taylor无法区分善恶，可以被灌输错误的观点，因此选择A选项。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“必要时她可以关闭自己”，C选项“她不善于处理新情况”和D选项“她擅长完成常规任务”，文章没有提供以上相关信息，属于无中生有，因此排除。
第5题:
【选项释义】
What does the author mean by AI machines acting ethically? 作者所说的人工智能机器的道德行为是什么意思？
A. They make sensible decisions when facing moral dilemmas. A. 它们在面临道德困境时会做出明智的决定。
B. They are capable of predicting possible risks. B. 它们能够预测可能的风险。
C. They weigh the gains and losses before reaching a decision. C. 它们在做出决定之前会权衡利弊。
D. They sacrifice everything to save human lives. D. 它们牺牲一切来拯救人类的生命。
【考查点】语义推断题
【解题思路】根据题干关键词acting ethically定位到文章第二段so it is not too soon to ask whether we can program a machine to act ethically…Sometimes, however, they will face a choice between lives.（因此，现在提出这样的问题并不为时过早，我们是否可以通过编程让机器做出符合道德的行为……然而，有时候，它们将面临生死抉择。），在讨论AI机器是否可以做出符合道德的行动时，提到了自动驾驶汽车在面临生命选择时的编程问题，由此可以推测，作者所说的AI的道德行动是关于道德困境中做出合理的决定，因此选择A选项。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“它们能够预测可能的风险”，虽然预测风险可能是道德判断的一部分，但它并不完全等同于道德行为，属于以偏概全；
C选项“它们在做出决定之前会权衡利弊”，这是决定过程的一部分，属于以偏概全；
D选项“它们牺牲一切来拯救人类的生命”，这是AI在道德困境中选择的可能性之一，属于以偏概全，因此排除。
