【推荐1】In 2020, OpenAI, a research lab in San Francisco, revealed a system called GPT-3. It is what artificial intelligence researchers call a neural(神经系统的) network, after the web of neurons in the human brain. A neural network is really a mathematical system that learns skills by locating patterns in vast amounts of digital data. By analyzing thousands of cat photos, for instance, it can learn to recognize a cat. “We call it ‘artificial intelligence,’ but a better name might be ‘finding statistical patterns from large data sets’,” said Dr. Gopnik, the Berkeley professor.

More recently, researchers at places like Google and OpenAI began building neural networks that learned from enormous amounts of prose, including digital books and Wikipedia articles by the thousands. GPT-3 is an example. As it analyzed all that digital text, it built what you might call a mathematical map of human language — more than 175 billion data points that describe how we piece words together. Using this map, it can perform many different tasks, like penning speeches, writing computer programs and having a conversation.

But there are limitations. If you ask GPT-3 for 10 speeches in the voice of Mark Twain, it might give you five that sound remarkably like the famous writer — and five others that come nowhere close. Computer programmers use the technology to create small snippets(一小段) of code they can slip into larger programs, but more often than not they have to edit and adjust whatever it gives them.

Still, Dr. Gopnik described this kind of system as intelligent. “It is not intelligent in the way humans are. It is like an unfamiliar form of intelligence,” he said. “But it still counts.”

Dr. Gopnik and many others in the field are confident that they are on a path to building a machine that can do anything the human brain can do. This confidence shines through when they discuss current technologies. He admits that some A.I. researchers “struggle to differentiate between reality and science fiction.” But he believes these researchers still serve a valuable role. “They help us dream of the full range of the possible,” he said.

Perhaps they do. But for the rest of us, these dreams can get in the way of the issues that deserve our attention.

【推荐3】Around the year 1603, Italian shoemaker Vincenzo Casciarolo tried heating some stone he had found on Mount Paderno near Bologna. No gold, silver or other precious metals resulted as he had hoped. But after the stone had cooled, Casciarolo discovered something riveting: If he exposed the material to sunlight and then took it into a dark room, the stone would glow(发光).

That “Bologna Stone” was the first artificially prepared, constantly luminescent(发光的) substance. Many more were to follow—and today, constantly luminescent materials are used for decorations, emergency lighting, road markings and medical imaging. Someday they might give us glowing cities that stay cooler and use less electricity.

A new generation of luminescent materials has the potential to cool cities by giving off light that would otherwise be turned into heat. They might also cut down on energy use, since luminescent sidewalks, glowing road markers or even glowing buildings could replace some street lighting. Already, some cities in Europe have built glowing bikeways, and some researchers have studied using glowing paint for road markings. “It’s better for the environment,” says Paul Berdahl, an environmental physicist. “If the technology can be improved, we can use less energy. It’s a worthwhile thing to do.”

The “Bologna Stone” attracted natural philosophers, but was never especially useful. But in the 1990s, chemists developed new types of constant photoluminescent(光致发光的) materials that maintain a strong glow for hours after exposure to light. Most of these new materials give off a blue or green glow, although a few glow yellow, red or orange. Such materials work by “trapping” the energy and then giving off that energy as lower-wavelength light. These materials open possibilities, such as “glow-in-the-dark” cities lighted by luminescent roads and buildings. Since 19 percent of all global energy use is for lighting, and in Europe about 1.6 percent specifically for street lighting, the potential energy savings are large.

In the longer term, new classes of engineered materials could work even better. For instance, one could turn to quantum dots(量子点) that can be made to glow and that are already used in biological imaging—or perovskites, materials used in solar cells that are also being studied for their luminescent qualities.

【推荐1】Can you write the Chinese characters “ganga” (embarrassment) correctly? Do you know how to write characters like “gala” (the corner of walls)? If you can’t, you are not alone. “Now most people are typing into computers instead of writing on paper. We type Chinese characters mainly according to their pronunciation. The result is to recognize characters without remembering how to write them. China Youth Daily did a survey of 2,517 people, in which 90 percent said they had once forgotten how to write a common Chinese character.

Compared to adults, teenagers are better at writing Chinese characters because they spend more time learning and practicing at school. However, the influence of digital (数字的) technology cannot be left out, according to He Yu, head of a research team for Chinese teaching.

“Many students lose themselves in digital tools such as mobile phones and computers, they spent too much time on these tools. As a result, too much use of the tools will make students too lazy to think and write.” he said. Such worries have brought about a popular TV show titled Chinese Spelling Hero, which pays attention to Chinese character writing among teenagers.

In April, the Ministry of Education called for better calligraphy (书法) education in schools. Organizations like the China Calligraphy Association are also working to train more teachers in calligraphy. Interestingly, calligraphy teachers can’t always avoid the influence of modern technology. Shen Bin is a calligraphy teacher at a primary school in Beijing. She said that it’s common for teachers like her to forget certain words. “The calligraphy class is also a good chance for me to remember how to write.” she said.

【推荐1】New research finds a link between poverty and poor decision making. The findings may explain why poor people sometimes make bad choices that continue their hardship.

Earlier studies have found the poor less likely to escape poverty. But there has been little research on why the poor make decisions that make their lives harder. Until recently, Eldar Shafir, a psychologist and his team did two experiments. One took place at a shopping center in New Jersey. The other was carried out among sugar cane (甘蔗) farmers in rural India.

The New Jersey experiment involved individuals with low paying jobs and others belonged to the middle class. All the volunteers were asked what they would do if their cars needed repairing.

The volunteers were given two imaginary situations. In the first, the car repair cost $150. In the second, $1,500.

“In the first, the poor and the rich performed equally well.”

“And when the repair cost $1,500, the poor performed significantly worse.” The poor lost about 13 IQ points on average. This is about the loss experienced when a person has not slept for one night.

The scientists then wondered if the same person reacted differently when he was rich and when he was poor. Once a year when the harvest comes in, the India sugar cane farmers earn most of their money, which often does not last through the year.

“So they find themselves basically rich after the harvest when the income comes in and poor just before the harvest.”

The researchers gave them tests similar to the ones taken by the people in New Jersey. They tested the Indian farmers before the harvest and after.

And the results were much the same as with the mall shoppers.

“They performed much more slowly and made many more mistakes when they were poor than when they were rich.”

Mr. Shafir says the results support 50 years of research that shows all humans have limited mental power to deal with things in life.

“And so the insight here is that, having not enough of something in a way makes it harder to make good decisions for everything else.”

【推荐2】As the world’s wealthiest country, it’s hard to understand that there are 38 million Americans living in poverty. Poverty is defined as a household income below the national poverty line, which is $25, 750 for a family of four.     1     Millions of people are struggling to afford basic necessities like food, shelter, and healthcare.

There are many factors that contribute to poverty in America.     2     In many cities, the cost of rent is astronomical(天文数字), and even those with full-time jobs can’t afford to pay for both rent and other basic expenses. Additionally, low-paying jobs and a lack of access to quality education can also contribute to poverty.

    3     People who live in poverty are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases and mental health issues, and they are more likely to die prematurely. Children growing up in poverty are at a disadvantage from the start, as they often don’t have access to quality education or healthcare, and they are more likely to experience food insecurity and homelessness.

Poverty is a complex issue with no easy solutions.     4     These include things like increasing access to affordable housing, creating more job opportunities with livable wages, and improving access to education and healthcare for all Americans.

In conclusion, poverty in America is a harsh reality that affects millions of people every day.     5     Necessary steps should be taken to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to live a healthy and prosperous life.