《卫报》评论：莫让AI掩盖青年才俊的光芒

The Guardian view on the graduate jobs crunch: AI must not be allowed to eclipse young talent  

词汇：考研 | 句法：六级 | 文本：考研

刘立军供稿

As annual degree ceremonies take place on campuses across the country, new graduates will doubtless be turning their thoughts to enjoying some stress-free time off. Given the current state of the labor market, some may be forced to make that break a long one.

随着全国各地高校陆续举行一年一度的毕业典礼，新一届毕业生无疑会想着享受一段轻松无忧的假期。然而，鉴于当前就业市场的严峻形势，有些人可能不得不把这段空档期拉得很长。

For university leavers, these are worrying times. A mounting pile of data suggests that accessing the kind of entry-level jobs that traditionally put degree holders on a path to professional success is becoming ever harder. One report published last month by the job-search site Indeed found that the market for young people fresh out of university is tougher than at any time since 2018. Compared with last year, the number of jobs advertised for recent graduates is down 33%.

对于即将走出大学校门的年轻人来说，这是个令人焦虑的时期。越来越多的数据表明，进入那些传统上为大学毕业生铺就职业成功之路的入门级岗位，正变得越来越困难。求职网站Indeed 上个月发布的一份报告显示，应届毕业生所面临的就业市场比自2018年以来任何时期都要严峻。与去年相比，面向应届毕业生的职位数量下降了33%。

Some of the squeeze can be put down to a general slowdown in hiring, as employers opt for caution in an unpredictable, growth-starved economic climate. Another analysis, published this week, found that the number of entry-level jobs on offer throughout the labour market has fallen. But the steepest drop-off appears to be in professional occupations, where the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) may be beginning to affect the bottom rungs of the white-collar career ladder.

部分原因是整体招聘活动放缓，雇主们在经济前景不明朗、增长乏力的环境下选择谨慎行事。本周发布的另一项分析也发现，整个劳动力市场上提供的入门级岗位数量有所减少。但降幅最显著的领域似乎集中在专业岗位。在这类岗位中，人工智能（AI）的影响可能已开始波及白领职业阶梯的最底层。

According to some analysts, a growing number of companies are using AI to perform many of the collative, summarizing or research-heavy kind of tasks that young graduates might previously have done. IBM’s human resources department now deploys AI to perform 94% of routine tasks, including performance reviews and development plans. Other employers may be hiring fewer graduates than in the past on the assumption that the use of AI will transform their productivity.

一些分析人士指出，越来越多的公司正在使用人工智能来完成许多原本由年轻毕业生承担的工作任务，比如资料整理、总结归纳或研究密集型工作。例如，IBM 的人力资源部门现在利用人工智能完成了94%的常规性任务，包括绩效评估和发展计划制定。其他雇主也可能因预期人工智能能提高效率而减少了对毕业生的招聘。

For a graduate cohort whose education was blighted by the pandemic, and which is burdened by an average student debt of about £45,000, such developments risk stunting careers before they have begun. Recruitment systems are steadily being transformed through the introduction of AI-driven sifting processes, in which applications are rejected without a human judgment being made. A sustained contraction of the graduate job market, as pathways into professional careers are shortsightedly shut down in the name of cost savings, would further undermine trust between the generations at a time when it is already in short supply.

对于那些学业受到疫情影响、平均背负约4.5万英镑学生债务的毕业生而言，这样的趋势可能会在职业生涯尚未起步时就造成阻碍。与此同时，招聘系统也在悄然发生变化，越来越多的企业采用基于人工智能的筛选机制，导致许多职位申请在缺乏人工判断的情况下就被直接回绝。如果企业在追求节约成本的过程中，盲目关闭通往专业岗位的通道，加之毕业生就业市场持续萎缩，只会进一步削弱本已脆弱的代际信任。

The technology minister, Peter Kyle, has urged businesses and employees to “act now” in gaining AI skills or risk being left behind, and the government hopes to collaborate with tech companies to deliver training to 7.5 million workers. But a focus on those hoping to enter the digitized workplace is also clearly needed. The evidence that entry-level jobs in areas such as law, finance and consulting are becoming scarcer should set alarm bells ringing in both government and boardrooms.

科技大臣彼得·凯尔敦促企业和员工“立即行动”，掌握人工智能相关技能，否则将被时代抛弃。政府也希望与科技公司合作，为750万名工人提供培训。然而，我们显然也需要特别关注那些即将进入数字化职场的年轻人。法律、金融和咨询等领域的入门岗位日益稀缺，这一趋势应该引起政府和企业高层的高度警觉。

Politically and economically, the country cannot afford to waste the acquired skills, creativity and dynamism of those who have actually come of age in the digitized world. That may mean companies eventually reimagining the spectrum of early career opportunities that can be offered to recent graduates. But business and government should make it a priority to ensure that they are given the openings and encouragement they need in a rapidly transforming environment. Innovations such as ChatGPT have become embedded in everyday life at vertiginous speed. But their benefits must not come at the expense of the young talent that will be crucial to shaping our future.

从政治和经济层面来看，国家承担不起浪费这部分人才潜能的代价——他们是真正在数字化时代成长起来的群体，拥有已习得的专业技能、创新能力与活力。这意味着企业最终需要重新思考并拓展面向应届毕业生的早期职业机会。政府和企业必须优先确保这些年轻人能够在快速变革的环境中获得应有的机会和激励。像 ChatGPT 这样的创新技术已经以惊人的速度融入日常生活。但它们带来的便利，绝不应以牺牲未来塑造者——年轻人才的利益为代价。

【词汇】

1. rung n. 梯级，等级  

2. cohort n. 群体，同龄人  

3. pandemic n. 大流行病  

4. stunt v. 阻碍

5. contraction n. 收缩，缩减  

6. digitize v. 数字化  

7. dynamism n. 活力，动力  

8. vertiginous adj. 令人眩晕的，陡峭的  

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