【推荐1】The discovery of the ruined palace in the Mosul Dam reservoir on the banks of the Tigris River inspired an archeological dig that would improve understanding of the Mittani Empire, one of the least-researched empires of the ancient Near East, a team of German researchers said. “The find is one of the most important archeological discoveries in the region in recent decades,” Kurdish archeologist(考古学家) Hasan Qasim said.

The palace would have originally stood just 65 feet from the river on a terrace(梯田). A terrace wall of mud bricks was later added to make the building stable. Ivana Puljiz, an archeologist from the University of Tübingen’s Institute for Ancient Near Eastern Studies, describes the palace, known as Kemune, as a carefully designed building with mud-brick walls up to 2 meters (6.6 feet) thick.

The team also found wall paintings in shades of red and blue, which were probably a common feature of palaces at the time but have rarely been found preserved. “Discovering wall paintings in Kemune is an archeological sensation,” Puljiz said in a press release, “Kemune is only the second site in the region where wall paintings of the Mittani period have been discovered.”

Ten clay tablets covered in cuneiform, an ancient system of writing, were also discovered and have been sent to Germany for translation. “From the texts we hope to gain information on the inner structure of the Mitani Empire, its economic organization, and the relationship of the Mittani capital with the administrative centers in the neighboring regions,” Puljiz added.

Archeologists first became aware of the site in 2010 when water levels in the reservoir were low, but this is the first time they have been able to dig. However, the site was submerged(淹没) shortly after the dig, Puljiz said, adding“It is unclear when it will come out of water again”.

【推荐2】“A positive attitude can be a gift to those around you,” said Jamie Long, a clinical psychologist in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “But it shouldn't take the place of listening thoughtfully to others' experiences.”

“When you choose to look at situations from one positive angle, you are very likely to dismiss a true experience,” Long explained. Even if you try to cheer up someone, ignoring someone's difficult experiences can leave them feeling they should hide negative feelings in the future.

As examples of “positive” responses that might destroy a friend's ability to share their feelings, Long listed: “Look for the silver lining” and “it could be worse”. Instead of trying to find a positive angle, Long suggested using accepting phrases that communicate a willingness to listen, and to share life's difficult moments with the people you care about.

Still, the positive benefits of negative emotions may be best experienced in relatively small doses(剂量). Lomas Quintero highlighted that appreciating the value of difficult feelings is all about finding balance. “Any negative emotion can go too far or turn into a clinical issue,” he said.

Long agreed. “There is an abundance of research that really touts(吹捧)the benefits of positivity, and we're not denying that,” Long said. “When you do so to an extreme, when you dismiss truth, that's where problems arise.”

【推荐1】September 2022 was apparently the month artificial intelligence essay anxiety boiled over in academia, after a user of an AI writing service claimed to be getting straight A’s with essays “written” using artificial intelligence. Most professors expressed concern. One wrote, “Grading something an AI wrote is an incredibly depressing waste of my life.”

As all this online depression was playing out, I asked my students, who were mostly majors in writing, to submit a 2,000-word proposal about a local issue. I asked them to rely on the AI as much as possible. After reviewing their 22 AI essays, I can tell you confidently that the technology just isn’t there. My students used free accessible text generators online and put in a lot of effort. But, if I had believed these were genuine student essays, the very best would have earned somewhere around a C or C-minus. Many of the essays had obvious red flags for AI generation: outdated facts, quotes from prior university presidents presented as current presidents, fictional professors and named student organizations that don’t exist. At the same time, the students reported that using AI required far more time than simply writing their essays the old-fashioned way would have.

There has been a fair amount written about the supposed impressiveness of AI-generated text. There are even several high-profile AI-written articles, essays or even scientific papers or screenplays that showcase this impressiveness. In many of these cases, the “authors” have access to higher-quality language models than most students are currently able to use. But, more importantly, the published examples are generally the polished form of professional writers and editors. In contrast, many of my students’ AI-generated essays showed the common problems of student writing—uncertainty about the appropriate writing style, issues with organization and transitions, and inconsistent paragraphing. Obviously, producing a quality essay with AI requires having high writing skill and revising skill to produce appropriate outputs.

My experimental so tells me that a good assignment sheet is the best defense against AI essays. If your assignment is “Describe the reasons for the U.S. Civil War”, you are more likely to get AI or downloaded essay submissions. My assignment was a challenge because it asked students to address local issues of concern. There are just not enough relevant examples in the data the AI text generators are drawing from.

It has been just over five years since computer scientists declared, “We should stop training radiologists(放射科医生) now. Deep learning is going to do better than radiologists.” Well, we’re still training radiologists, and there’s no indication that deep learning is going to replace human doctors anytime soon. In much the same way, I strongly suspect full-on robot writing will always and forever be “just around the corner”.

【推荐2】In one horrible film plot, Al eventually outsmarts humans and takes over computers and factories. In another, large language models (LLMs) of the sort that power generative AI like ChatGPT give bad guys the know-how to create destructive cyberweapons.

It is time to think hard about these film plots, not because they have become more probable but because policymakers around the world are considering measures to guard against them. The idea that AI could drive humans to extinction is speculative—no one yet knows how such a threat might materialise and no common methods exist for determining what counts as risky. Plenty of research needs to be done before standards and rules can be set.

Governments cannot ignore a technology that could change the world deeply. Regulators have been too slow in the past, but there is danger, too, in acting hurriedly. If they go too fast, policymakers could create global rules that are aimed at the wrong problems and are ineffective against the real ones.

Because of the computing resources and technical skills required, only a handful of companies have so far developed powerful “frontier” models. New hurried regulations could easily block out competitors to the “handful of companies”, especially because these companies are working closely with governments on writing the rule book. A focus on extreme risks is likely to make regulators careful of open -source models, which are freely available and can easily be revised.

The best that governments can do now is to set up the basic systems to study the technology and its potential risks, and ensure that those working on the problem have enough resources. As AI develops further, regulators will have a far better idea of what risks they are guarding against, and consequently what the rule book should look like. A fully mature body could eventually take shape. But creating it will take time and reflection.

【推荐3】It’s logical for humans to feel anxious about artificial intelligence. After all, the news is constantly listing job after job where the technology seems to outperform us. But humans aren’t yet headed for all-out replacement. And if you do suffer from so-called AI anxiety, there are ways to alleviate your fears and even change them into a motivating force for good. Here’s how some psychologists and other experts suggest handling our AI fears.

First off, context is key, says Sanae Okamoto, a psychologist and behavioral scientist in the Netherlands. She suggests keeping in mind that the present moment is far from the first time people have feared the rise of an unfamiliar technology. “Computer anxiety”  dates back decades, Okamoto notes. Before that, there was worry over industrial automation. Past technological advances have led to big social and economic shifts. Some fears became reality, and some jobs did disappear, but many of the worst science fiction predictions did not come true.

Facing fears of AI by actually trying out the tools, seeing where and how they can be useful, reading up on how they work and understanding their limitations can turn the tech from a monster into a potential helper, says Jerri Lynn Hogg, a media psychologist. A deeper understanding can empower someone to advocate for meaningful job protections or policies that hold back potential problems.

Mary Alvord, a practicing psychologist, also stresses the importance of addressing the problem directly. “We talk about what actions you can take instead of sticking your head in the sand,” she says. Maybe that means gaining new skills to prepare for a career change or learning about ongoing efforts to control AI. Or maybe it means building a union with colleagues at work, which is important to help people feel more secure and hopeful about the future.        

Perhaps the better response is to use our AI anxiety to push us forward. Mastering a craft—be it drawing, writing, programming or translating — and using that skill to create something new is “the most rewarding thing that we can possibly do.” says Sean Kelly, a Harvard University philosophy professor. So why not let AI motivate more creation instead of replacing it? If the technology produces something interesting, we can build on it. And if it doesn’t, then why worry about it at all?