VOA慢速：2023年是人工智能的大年

2023: A Big Year for Artificial Intelligence

语速：CET-4听力 / 词汇：五级（CET-4）偏易 / 篇幅：738词 / 时长：6分55秒

刘立军 供稿

Part I. QUESTIONS

Listen to the news and choose the best answer to each question you hear.

Q1. What was the central focus of attention on AI in 2023 according to the text?

A. The futuristic expectations of human-like machines.

B. The blocking of AI technologies by schools worldwide.

C. The release and impact of the chatbot ChatGPT.

D. Legal disputes fueled by AI tools.

Q2. Why did classrooms begin to block ChatGPT soon after New Year's Day, as mentioned in the text?

A. Because it was creating deepfake videos.

B. Due to its inability to understand human language.

C. As a result of the AI crisis at OpenAI.

D. Because students were using it to write papers and take tests.

Q3. What is a key characteristic of deepfakes as described in the text?

A. They are primarily used for creating music.

B. They show real actions and speeches without edits.

C. They include realistic images with digital alterations.

D. They helped resolve the AI disputes in 2023.

Q4. According to Dave Micko from Gartner, how does technology adoption generally occur?

A. It is pushed by government regulations.

B. It comes from the bottom up, driven by users.

C. It starts from the top management of tech companies.

D. It is a result of the inflated expectations set by developers.

Q5. Based on Tom Gruber’s point of view, what can be inferred about the future risks associated with AI?

A. Privacy concerns will arise as AI manages more of our digital lives.

B. They will diminish as AI fails to meet expectations.

C. They will primarily affect self-driving car technology.

D. The biggest risk lies in AI's lack of ability to recognize speech.

Part II. TRANSCRIPT

2023: A Big Year for Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) became a popular subject in 2023. Still, the technology has a long way to go to meet people's futuristic expectations of human-like machines. (Q1) ChatGPT was central to this year's attention on AI. The chatbot showed the world recent developments in computer science, although not everyone understood quite how it works or what to do with it. AI scientist Fei-Fei Li suggested that 2023 would be remembered for the great changes in technology as well as the public awakening. It was a year for people to figure out "what this is, how to use it, what's the impact - all the good, the bad and the ugly," she added.

futuristic adj. 幻想未来的；想象未来情况的

The first AI concerns of 2023 began soon after New Year's Day. That is when classrooms reopened and schools from Seattle to Paris started blocking ChatGPT. (Q2) Students were already asking the chatbot - released in late 2022 - to write papers and answer take-home tests. AI large language models behind technology such as ChatGPT work by predicting the next word in a sentence. The models make such predictions after having "learned" the structure of a huge number of human-written works. The large language models often get facts wrong. But the results appeared so natural that it created interest in the next AI developments and possible uses for trickery and deception. Worries grew as this new group of generative AI tools produced not just words but also images, music and voices. They seemed to threaten the jobs of anyone who writes, draws, and creates music and computer languages. Concerns about AI tools fueled strikes by Hollywood writers and actors and legal disputes from artists to writers. Some of the most respected AI scientists warned that the technology's progress was marching toward outsmarting humans and possibly threatening their existence. Yet other scientists called the warnings overblown and brought attention to more immediate risks. By spring, AI-created videos known as deepfakes had appeared in U.S. election campaigns. (Q3) Deepfakes are videos that contain realistic images but with digital changes to people's actions and speech. One deepfake falsely showed Donald Trump embracing the nation's former top infectious disease expert. The technology made it increasingly difficult to tell the difference between real and fake videos of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. By the end of the year, the AI crisis affected ChatGPT's maker, OpenAI. The San Francisco-based company led by chief executive Sam Altman was nearly destroyed by disagreements over its mission. AI debates also led to new laws from the European Union and consideration from others, including the United States Congress.

generative adj. 有生产力的；能生产的；有生殖力的

AI products released in 2023 have brought technology achievements not possible in earlier times. But the market research company Gartner says they arrive with "inflated expectations" and "massive claims" about its abilities. Gartner analyst Dave Micko said leading AI developers are pushing the latest technology with their current line of products, including search engines and workplace productivity software. He said, "As much as Google and Microsoft and Amazon and Apple would love us to adopt the way that they think about their technology and that they deliver that technology, (Q4) I think adoption actually comes from the bottom up." It is easy to forget that this is not the first appearance of AI in business. The technology has been used to help guide self-driving cars, compare objects and individual faces, and recognize speech in software like Siri and Alexa. In 2011, Tom Gruber launched Siri, which was bought and used by Apple in the iPhone. At that time, it was the only major use of AI that people had ever experienced. But Gruber believes what's happening now is the "biggest wave ever" in AI, launching new possibilities as well as dangers. (Q5) The dangers could come fast in 2024. Major national elections in the U.S., India and elsewhere could get flooded with AI-created deepfakes. In the longer term, AI technology's rapidly improving language, visual sensing and step-by-step planning abilities could create a kind of digital assistant - but only if given access to the "inner loop of our digital life stream," Gruber said. "They can manage your attention as in, 'You should watch this video. You should read this book. You should respond to this person's communication,'" Gruber said. He added, "That is what a real executive assistant does. And we could have that, but with a really big risk of personal information and privacy." 

I'm John Russell. And I'm Ashley Thompson.

Part III. KEY

Q1. C. 细节题。文章第  段提到：“ChatGPT was central to this year's attention on AI.” 意为：“ChatGPT成为了今年对AI关注的中心。” 因此答案为C。

Q2. D. 细节题。文章第  段提到：“Students were already asking the chatbot - released in late 2022 - to write papers and answer take-home tests.” 意为：“学生们已经开始要求这个于2022年末发布的聊天机器人写论文和回答带回家的测试作业。” 因此答案为D。

Q3. C. 细节题。文章第  段最后一部分提到：“Deepfakes are videos that contain realistic images but with digital changes to people's actions and speech.” 意为：“Deepfake是包含现实图像但对人物的动作和言语进行数字化更改的视频。” 因此答案为C。

Q4. B. 主旨题。文章第  段提到：“I think adoption actually comes from the bottom up.” 意为：“我认为技术的采用实际上是自下而上的。” 这表明，根据Gartner分析师Dave Micko的说法，技术的采用通常是由用户驱动的。因此答案为B。

Q5. A. 推理题。文章第  段提到：“The dangers could come fast in 2024... 'That is what a real executive assistant does. And we could have that, but with a really big risk of personal information and privacy.'” 意为：“随着AI管理我们更多的数字生活，隐私问题可能会迅速出现……‘这就是一个真正的行政助理所做的事情。我们可以拥有这样的东西，但伴随着极大的个人信息和隐私风险。’” 根据Tom Gruber的观点，可以推断隐私方面的顾虑将随着AI在我们数字生活中扮演更重要角色而增加。因此答案为A。

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