外刊逐句精讀｜《金融時報》：ChatGPT火了，AI時代來了嗎？｜CATTI一級
本文摘自20230204《金融時報》
P1
“The age of AI is upon us,” Microsoft’s chief executive Satya Nadella declared last week.
??upon prep. 即將來臨
Winter is almost upon us.冬天即將來臨。
??chief executive?首席執(zhí)行官
= CEO （Chief Executive Office）
P2
The giant software company is certainly backing its grand talk with hard cash and computing power. Last month, Microsoft announced it was investing a further $10bn in OpenAI, the San Francisco-based research company that has electrified the digital world with the launch of its ChatGPT language-generation model.
?
??grand talk 豪言壯語
??back vt.幫助、支持
??hard cash 現(xiàn)金（硬幣和紙幣）
??computing power?計算能力、算力
??-based adj. 總部位于......的
a London-based law firm 總部設在倫敦的一家律所
??electrify vt. 使通電；使興奮
? launch n.（產(chǎn)品的）上市
? ChatGPT= Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer
美國科技公司OpenAI開發(fā)的聊天機器人。能夠通過學習和理解人類的語言來進行對話，還能完成撰寫郵件、視頻腳本、文案、翻譯、代碼，寫論文等任務。
難句解析：
1.Last month,?Microsoft announced?it was investing a further $10bn in OpenAI,?the San Francisco-based research company?that has electrified the digital world with the launch of its ChatGPT language-generation model.
???灰色部分為時間狀語。
???紅色部分為句子主干，其后賓語從句省略了連詞that。
???藍色部分為賓語從句，淺藍色部分為OpenAI的同位語。
???綠色部分為research company的定語從句。
段落大意：ChatGPT為科技界帶來了驚喜，微軟重金扶持其開發(fā)公司OpenAl。
P3
Within a week of opening up ChatGPT to the public, 1mn users were experimenting with the super-sophisticated chatbot to write reams of highly plausible text at astonishing speed.
? experiment with/ on sth. 做試驗
? sophisticated adj. 先進的、精密復雜的
? reams n. [非正式]大量的文字
a reams of sth.?大段的…
She wrote reams in the exam.她在考試中寫得很多。
? plausible adj. 貌似合理的
段落大意：ChatGPT向公眾開放后，大量用戶測試了它的文本生成功能。
P4
Such “l(fā)arge language models”, as they are called, are not new, but never before have they been made so widely accessible. Even the British finance minister Jeremy Hunt (or his speechwriter) employed ChatGPT to compose the introduction to his recent speech on innovation
?
??large language model（LLM）大型語言模型
??accessible adj. 可使用的
??finance minister?財政部長（統(tǒng)稱）
Chancellor of the Exchequer??財政大臣
the Exchequer 英國財政部??
??speechwriter n. 演講稿寫人
??compose?vt.?創(chuàng)作、撰寫、作曲
composer?n. 作曲家
composition?n. （文學、音樂）作品；創(chuàng)作
難句解析：
2.Such “l(fā)arge language models”,?as they are called,?are not new, but?never before have they been made so widely accessible.
??并列連詞but連接了兩個句子（紅色部分和黃色部分）。
??灰色部分為插入語，起補充說明作用。
??黃色部分句子使用了部分倒裝，表強調(diào)，語序還原如下：
= They have never before been made so widely accessible.
段落大意：大型語言模型并不是新鮮事物，但從未像現(xiàn)在一樣被廣泛使用。
P5
Despite the broader tech market downturn, venture capital firms have been frenziedly pouring billions of dollars into start-ups to exploit the commercial opportunities of these “generative” AI models.
??venture capital（VC）風險投資
??frenziedly adv. 瘋狂地、狂亂地
frenzied /'frenzid/ adj. 瘋狂的、狂亂的
??start-up n. 初創(chuàng)公司
??exploit vt. 充分利用、發(fā)揮
??generative AI 生成式AI
一種特定類型的AI，在大型數(shù)據(jù)集上進行訓練，并使用機器學習算法生成與訓練數(shù)據(jù)相似的新內(nèi)容，如文本、圖像和音樂?。
generative adj. 有生產(chǎn)能力的
the generative power of the sun 太陽催生萬物的能力
generate vt. 產(chǎn)生、引起
段落大意：風投公司大力加碼發(fā)展生成式AI。
P6
Trained on huge amounts of content drawn from the internet, these models can also be used to generate computer code, images, audio and video. The next big thing in AI this year may well be the emergence of multi-modal models that mix several of these elements. “The quality and capabilities of generative models for imagery, video, and audio has shown truly stunning and extraordinary advances in 2022,” wrote Jeff Dean, one of Google’s most senior AI researchers.
?
??draw A from B 從B獲取A
??code n. 代碼 vt. 編程序、編碼
??may/ might/ can/ could well?很可能
??emergence n. 出現(xiàn)
emerge v. 出現(xiàn)
??multi-modal model 多模態(tài)模型
modal /maudl/ adj. 模態(tài)的
模態(tài)是指一些表達或感知事物的方式，每一種信息的來源或者形式，都可以稱為一種模態(tài)。當一個研究問題或數(shù)據(jù)集包含多個這樣的模態(tài)時，它就被描述為多模態(tài)，比如同時包含文本、語音和圖形信息的數(shù)據(jù)。
??imagery n. 圖像
??stunning adj. 絕妙的、令人震驚的
段落大意：介紹了生成式AI模型的原理和功能。這種模型目前已取得驚人進步，下一個階段可以期待“多模態(tài)模型”的進展。
P7
Tech evangelists argue that the widespread adoption of generative AI opens up a new era in technology, just as the emergence of personal computers, smartphones and social media gave birth to seemingly limitless business opportunities in earlier times. Generative AI may yet transform the creative industries, video games production and enterprise software, for example. One of the open questions surrounding its use is whether it will strengthen the power of the tech incumbents, including Microsoft and Google, or stimulate fresh competition from insurgent start-ups, such as Cohere, Stability AI and You.com.
??evangelist n. 巡回布道者、傳播者
tech evangelists = tech advocate
??adoption n. 采用 (想法、計劃等)
??give birth to sth. 使產(chǎn)生
??yet adv.?終歸、遲早（熟詞僻義）
I know she's alive and I'll find her?yet.
我知道她還活著，我遲早會找到她。
??open question?未有定論的問題?
??incumbent n. 在職者、現(xiàn)任者
In general, incumbents have a 94 percent chance of being reelected.
通常現(xiàn)任官員有 94% 的幾率會再次當選。
? stimulate vt. 促進、刺激
? insurgent adj. 起義的
難句解析：
3.Tech evangelists argue that the widespread (adoption) of generative AI opens up a new era in technology, just as the (emergence) of personal computers, smartphones and social media gave birth to seemingly limitless business opportunities in earlier times.
??紅色部分為句子主干。
??藍色部分為賓語從句。
??綠色部分為just as引導的狀語從句。
4.One of the (open questions) surrounding its use?is?whether it will strengthen the power of the tech incumbents, including Microsoft and Google,?or stimulate fresh competition from insurgent start-ups, such as Cohere, Stability AI and You.com.
??紅色部分為句子主干。
??藍色部分為whether引導的表語從句，核心結構為whether it?will?do A?or?do B?。
??灰色部分為插入語，用including...和such as...補充例子，分別解釋tech incumbents和insurgent start-ups。
段落大意：技術傳播者宣稱生成式AI的廣泛使用可以帶來跨時代的革新，但這會鞏固現(xiàn)有巨頭的地位還是給新企業(yè)更多機會還不得而知。
P8
But the widespread adoption of generative AI is also triggering concerns about the theft of copyright, the spread of disinformation and deepfakes and the debasement of knowledge on the world wide web. Generative AI systems are trained to produce the most statistically probable answer, not the most accurate, and can “hallucinate” facts. ChatGPT has been described as “the greatest bullshitter ever” by Arvind Narayanan, a computer science professor at Princeton University.
??trigger vt. 引發(fā)
??copyright n. 版權
??disinformation n. 虛假消息
??deepfake n. 深度偽造
= deep learning + fake
??debasement n. 降低（價值）
??world wide web 萬維網(wǎng)
= WWW
??statistically adv. 從統(tǒng)計學來說
??probable adj. 可能發(fā)生的
??hallucinate vi. 產(chǎn)生幻覺 vt. 用幻覺影響
hallucination n. 幻覺
??bullshit n. 胡說、瞎扯
bullshiter n. 胡說八道的人
??Princeton University 警林斯頓大學
??生成式AI引發(fā)的一系列問題：
theft of copyright?版權盜竊?
the spread of disinformation?虛假信息的傳播?
deepfakes?深度偽造
the debasement of knowledge on the world wide web?萬維網(wǎng)上的知識貶值
段落大意：生成式AI引發(fā)了一系列擔憂，內(nèi)容的準確性有待商榷。
P9
The digital gold rush around generative AI may also be distracting us from more profound and productive uses of other machine learning models, according to one tech executive. While everyone is fixated on the industry’s “shiny new toy”, researchers have been using machine learning systems to diagnose cancers, model protein structures, optimise electricity grids and design components for heart valves, aero engines or wind turbines.
??gold rush 淘金熱
??distract sb. from (doing) sth. 使（做某事）分心
??machine learning 機器學習
??be fixated on sth.?專注于某事
??model vt. 建模
??protein structure 蛋白質(zhì)結構
??optimise vt. 優(yōu)化
??electricity grid 電網(wǎng)
??component n.組件
??heart valve 心臟瓣膜
??aero engine 航空發(fā)動機、飛機引擎
??wind turbine 風力渦輪發(fā)電機
??AI的多項應用：
diagnose cancers?診斷癌癥?
model protein structures?為蛋白質(zhì)結構建模?
optimise electricity grids?優(yōu)化電網(wǎng)?
design components for heart valves, aero engines or wind turbines?設計心臟瓣膜、航天發(fā)動機、風力發(fā)電渦輪的部件
難句解析：
5.While everyone is fixated on the industry’s “shiny new toy”, researchers have been using machine learning systems to diagnose cancers, model protein structures, optimise electricity grids and design components for heart valves, aero engines or wind turbines.
??藍色部分為伴隨狀語從句。
??紅色部分為句子主干，淺紅色為目的狀語。
段落大意：過度關注生成式AI可能會不利于其他AI應用的發(fā)展。事實上其他AI技術已經(jīng)給各行各業(yè)帶來了切實幫助。
P10
The age of AI may well be upon us, but not quite in the way we — and our digital assistants — are currently all chatting about.
難句解析：
6.The age of AI may well be upon us,?but not quite in the way?(that) we?— and our digital assistants —?are currently all chatting about.
??紅色部分為句子主干。
??藍色部分為方式狀語，內(nèi)嵌淺藍色定語從句，補充說明the way。
??灰色部分為插入語，起補充we的作用。
段落大意：哪怕AI時代真的來了，目前的程度還不夠成熟。
?全文總結：
