VOA慢速：人工智能是否能提升员工业务能力?
Can artificial intelligence improve worker performance?
刘立军 供稿
TRANSCRIPT
An experiment involving hundreds of office workers has found that artificial intelligence (AI) tools can greatly help but also hurt worker performance.
AI tools designed to operate at human levels have greatly expanded in popularity over the past year.
These include OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s AI-powered search engine Bing.
Such tools, also known as chatbots or “generative AI,” are computer-powered systems.
They are designed to interact smoothly with humans and perform high-level writing and creative work.
In recent months, these tools have demonstrated an ability to produce high quality work.
This has led some technology experts to warn that generative AI systems could end up replacing workers in many industries.
This year, researchers at Harvard Business School and other organizations carried out an experiment.
It aimed to test how well AI tools could help workers perform their usual duties, or tasks.
It involved more than 700 business advisors, called consultants, from Massachusetts-based Boston Consulting Group.
Harvard Business School recently published results from the experiment in a “working paper.”
The main findings suggest that AI tools like ChatGPT can greatly improve worker performance.
For example, researchers found that, on average, workers who used OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT-4 tool completed 12 percent more tasks than non-ChatGPT users.
Tasks carried out with help from the AI technology were completed 25 percent faster.
And the team found the quality of work performed by consultants using ChatGPT-4 increased about 40 percent.
Work tasks used in the study covered four main areas: creativity, analytical thinking, writing and persuasiveness.
The team gave examples of worker tasks in each of these areas.
One example for creativity was: “Propose at least 10 ideas for a new shoe targeting an underserved market or sport.”
For writing, consultants were asked to “write a press release with marketing copy” for a new product.
To show persuasiveness, workers were told to write a letter to employees that explained why a particular product would beat competitors.
Harvard Business School’s Fabrizio Dell’Acqua was the paper’s lead writer.
He told technology website VentureBeat he thinks the results were especially important because they showed that AI tools can help even highly educated, experienced workers.
“The fact that we could boost the performance of these highly paid, highly skilled consultants, from top, elite MBA institutions. I would say that’s really impressive,” Dell’Acqua said.
However, the paper also noted areas where the performance of consultants using ChatGPT-4 dropped.
The researchers said this was especially true with tasks the AI tool was not good at completing.
Of tasks the AI was good at, the experiment showed it “significantly improved human performance,” the paper said.
But for tasks ChatGPT-4 was not right for, “humans relied too much on the AI, and were more likely to make mistakes.”
The researchers reported that consultants who used AI for tasks it was not well equipped for “were 19 percent less likely to produce correct solutions compared to those without AI.”
The experiment also showed how consultants used the AI tool differently to improve their work.
The researchers said some workers purposely divided the tasks with some being completely carried out by the AI tool and others the workers themselves carried out completely.
Other workers chose to use AI for all tasks, while “continually interacting with the technology.”
The team suggests one of the biggest barriers to companies effectively using AI is not knowing which tasks can be completed best with the technology.
Finding this out will require businesses to carry out thoughtful research and training efforts in order to find the right mix of AI and human-level work.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
VOCABULARY
1. generative adj. pertaining to the production or creation of something. 生成的：与某物的产生或创造相关的
2. boost verb. to increase or improve something, especially in terms of performance or effectiveness.提升；增加或改善某物，尤其是在性能或效果方面
3. elite adj. an elite group contains the best, most skilled, or most experienced people or members of a larger group 出类拔萃的，精锐的
QUESTIONS
Listen to the news and choose the best answer to each question you hear.
1.According to the text, what is the main concern raised by some technology experts regarding the increasing popularity of generative AI tools like ChatGPT?
A. Experts worry about the decline in worker performance due to AI tools.
B. Some experts fear that generative AI systems might replace workers in various industries.
C. The popularity of AI tools has led to increased competition among technology experts.
D. Experts express concerns about the limited capabilities of generative AI in creative tasks.
2. What is the main finding of the experiment conducted by Harvard Business School?
A. AI tools greatly improve worker performance.
B. AI tools hinder worker performance.
C. Workers are more likely to make mistakes when using AI tools.
D. Workers rely too much on AI tools for completing tasks.
3. How did the performance of consultants using ChatGPT-4 differ in tasks that the AI tool was not good at completing?
A. The consultants relied too much on the AI tool.
B. The consultants were more likely to make mistakes.
C. The consultants were less likely to produce correct solutions.
D. The AI tool significantly improved human performance.
4. How did some workers use the AI tool to improve their work?
A. They divided tasks between AI and themselves.
B. They used AI for all tasks.
C. They interacted with the AI continually.
D. They relied solely on the AI tool.
5. What is one of the biggest barriers to effectively using AI according to the research team?
A. Lack of training efforts.
B. Not knowing which tasks are suitable for AI.
C. Inability of AI tools to perform at human levels.
D. The reliance on AI replacing human workers.
KEY
1.According to the text, what is the main concern raised by some technology experts regarding the increasing popularity of generative AI tools like ChatGPT?
A. Experts worry about the decline in worker performance due to AI tools.
B. Some experts fear that generative AI systems might replace workers in various industries.
C. The popularity of AI tools has led to increased competition among technology experts.
D. Experts express concerns about the limited capabilities of generative AI in creative tasks.
【答案】B
【解析】细节题。根据文章内容：This has led some technology experts to warn that generative AI systems could end up replacing workers in many industries. 因此，面对ChatGPT等人工智能生成工具的流行，很多技术专家担心的是许多行业的工人可能会被取代。因此，答案是A。
2. What is the main finding of the experiment conducted by Harvard Business School?
A. AI tools greatly improve worker performance.
B. AI tools hinder worker performance.
C. Workers are more likely to make mistakes when using AI tools.
D. Workers rely too much on AI tools for completing tasks.
【答案】A
【解析】细节题。根据文章内容，研究发现AI工具可以极大地提高工作人员的表现。这可以从以下句子得出结论：… researchers found that, on average, workers who used OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT-4 tool completed 12 percent more tasks than non-ChatGPT users. 研究人员发现，平均而言，使用OpenAI的最新ChatGPT-4工具的工作者完成的任务比不使用ChatGPT的用户多12％。因此，答案是A。
3. How did the performance of consultants using ChatGPT-4 differ in tasks that the AI tool was not good at completing?
A. The consultants relied too much on the AI tool.
B. The consultants were more likely to make mistakes.
C. The consultants were less likely to produce correct solutions.
D. The AI tool significantly improved human performance.
【答案】C
【解析】细节题。根据文章内容，The researchers reported that consultants who used AI for tasks it was not well equipped for “were 19 percent less likely to produce correct solutions compared to those without AI.” 对于不适合用ChatGPT-4完成的任务，人们有19%的可能更容易出错。因此，答案是C。
4. How did some workers use the AI tool to improve their work?
A. They divided tasks between AI and themselves.
B. They used AI for all tasks.
C. They interacted with the AI continually.
D. They relied solely on the AI tool.
【答案】A
【解析】细节题。根据文章内容：The researchers said some workers purposely divided the tasks with some being completely carried out by the AI tool and others the workers themselves carried out completely. 一些工作者通过将任务进行再分配，让AI完全承担其中的一部分工作，而自己承担其他的工作，以此来提高工作效率。因此，答案是A。
5. What is one of the biggest barriers to effectively using AI according to the research team?
A. Lack of training efforts.
B. Not knowing which tasks are suitable for AI.
C. Inability of AI tools to perform at human levels.
D. The reliance on AI replacing human workers.
【答案】B
【解析】推理题。根据文章内容：The team suggests one of the biggest barriers to companies effectively using AI is not knowing which tasks can be completed best with the technology. 研究小组认为，有效使用AI的最大障碍之一是不知道哪些任务最适合使用AI。因此，答案是B。
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