Artificial intelligence (AI) is rushing into business. Firms of all types are using AI to forecast demand, hire workers and deal with customers. The McKinsey Global Institute, a think-tank within a consultancy, forecasts that just applying AI to marketing, sales and supply chains could create economic value of $2.7trn over the next 20 years.
Such grand forecasts fuel anxiety as well as hope. Less familiar, but just as important, is how AI will transform the workplace.
Start with the benefits.AI ought to improve productivity. Humanyze, a people analytics software provider, combines data from its badges（工牌）with employees’ calendars and e-mails to work out, say, whether office layouts favour teamwork .Slack, a workplace messaging app, helps managers assess how quickly employees accomplish tasks. Companies will see when workers are not just dozing off but also misbehaving.
Employees will gain, too. Thanks to advance in computer vision, AI can check that workers are wearing safety equipment and that no one has been harmed on the factory floor. Some will appreciate more feedback on their work and welcome a sense of how to do better.
Machines can help ensure that pay rises and promotions go to those who deserve them. That starts with hiring. People often have biases but algorithms（算法）, if designed correctly, can be more unprejudiced. Software can flag patterns that people might miss.
Yet AI’s benefits will come with many potential drawbacks. Algorithms may not be free of the biases of their programmers, which can have unintended consequences. The length of a travel may predict whether an employee will quit a job, but this focus may harm poorer applicants. Older staff might work more slowly than younger ones and could risk losing their positions if all AI looks for is productivity. And surveillance（监控）may feel Orwellian—a sensitive matter now that people have begun to question how much Facebook and other tech giants know about their private lives.
As regulators and employers weigh the pros and cons of AI in the workplace, three principles ought to guide its spread. First, data should be anonymized where possible. Microsoft, for example, has a product that shows individuals how they manage their time in the office, but gives managers information only in aggregated（整合）form. Second, the use of AI ought to be transparent. Employees should be told what technologies are being used in their workplaces and which data are being gathered. As a matter of routine, algorithms used by firms to hire, fire and promote should be tested for bias and unintended consequences. Last, countries should let individuals request their own data, whether they are ex-workers wishing to contest a dismissal or jobseekers hoping to demonstrate their ability to prospective employers.
The march of Al into the workplace calls for trade-offs between privacy and performance. A fairer, more productive workforce is a prize worth having, but not if it chains employees. Striking a balance will require thought, a willingness for both employers and employees to adapt and a strong dose of humanity.
AI Spy | |
Passage outline | Supporting details |
Introduction | While its future in business is full of |
Advantages of AI | ·AI makes business more productive by analyzing the office layout, assessing the employees’ working efficiency and ·AI can ·AI helps businesses hire more suitable employees and develop a better |
Potential drawbacks of AI | ·Undesirable results may arise due to the biases of the programmers. ·Poorer applicants and older staff are at a ·Employees’ privacy is |
Principles | ·Keep the data anonymous when they are gathered and used. · |
Summary | Only when employees and employers are |
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【推荐1】Dolphins, African gray parrots and some other animals understand the idea of “zero,” but researchers were surprised to find that honeybees also comprehend this abstract concept, considering the insects’ tiny brains, according to a new study. Honeybees have fewer than one million neurons (神经元), compared with the 86 billion neurons in humans—and yet, they grasp a concept that humans, by some measures, don’t start to understand before preschool.
The researchers set up two cards, each of which had a set of symbols on them, like triangles or circles. Then, they trained a group of the bees to fly to the card with the lower number of symbols. The bees quickly learned what the humans wanted them to do to get their delicious, sweet rewards. The trained bees were then shown a card that was empty and one that had symbols on it. There is no need for the bees to be trained to fly more often to the empty card—thus showing that they understood that “zero” was a number less than the others.
Although they flew more often to an empty card than to one that had one symbol on it, it became easier for them to distinguish when the symbols on the card increased in number. For example, they more often flew to the zero when the other card had four symbols than when it had one.
Perhaps these findings will explain the brain mechanism (机制) behind what allows us to understand the concept of “nothing,” Adrian Dyer, a researcher said. This understanding, in turn, could help in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) that also understands this concept. “If bees can understand ‘zero’ with a brain of less than a million neurons, it suggests there are simple, efficient ways to teach AI new tricks,” Dyer said in the statement.
1. What is a surprising finding for the researchers?| A．Many animals also comprehend the meaning of “zero”. |
| B．The number of neurons of honeybees is much smaller. |
| C．Honeybees can understand “zero” with their tiny brains. |
| D．Humans fail to recognize abstract ideas before preschool. |
| A．Fly directly to the card with more symbols on it. |
| B．Fly less often to the card with fewer symbols on it. |
| C．Fly quite slowly to the card without anything on it. |
| D．Fly more often to the card without any symbol on it. |
| A．They offer inspiration to the development of technology. |
| B．They enable people to understand more abstract concepts. |
| C．They suggest ways to teach humans some complex tricks. |
| D．They allow people to set a new type of brain mechanism. |
| A．Honeybees know about the concept of “zero”. |
| B．Honeybees can understand much as humans do. |
| C．Honeybees will help to improve AI in the future. |
| D．Honeybees can be trained to comprehend “zero”. |
【推荐2】Fire ants dig tunnels efficiently by only a small percentage of the group doing most of the work. Free-loaders just sit around while their hard-working colleagues get things done. But might freeloaders actually be necessary for society to function efficiently? The answer could be yes.
Fire ants are highly social organisms. So, Goldman, a physicist at Georgia Tech, and his colleagues wanted to know how individual ants knew what to do without a central leader issuing orders. To find out, Goldman's team labeled individual fire ants with paint and then watched them dig their narrow tunnels —barely wide enough for two workers. Turns out, just 30 percent of the ants did 70 percent of the labor. “I was surprised that we ended up with so few workers actually doing the work at any one time. ” A quarter of the ants never even entered the tunnel. Others crawled inside, but left without digging single grain of dirt. These idling behaviors ensured the tunnels did not get clogged with insect traffic, which would make the construction process stop.
And when the scientists removed the five hardest working ants from the colony, others immediately jumped in to compensate (补偿) — with no reduction in the group's productivity. It seems that it doesn’t matter which ants are working or freeloading at a given time, as long as there is some division of labor to keep the tunnels flowing smoothly. The findings are in the journal Science.
The study could have implications for robotics. Imagine groups of robots sent to search rubble (碎石) for disaster survivors. Or nanobots (纳米机器人) coursing through our bodies to diagnose illness and deliver targeted medical treatment. Such robot groups will need to avoid getting jammed up in tight spaces. It might be necessary to program them so some just sit back and watch their comrades work.
1. How do fire ants get the work done when digging tunnels?| A．Only the leaders do most of the work. |
| B．They all work under the order of one leader. |
| C．They all cooperate together to do the work efficiently. |
| D．Individual fire ants know their tasks and work efficiently. |
| A．crowded | B．transported |
| C．organized | D．covered |
| A．The ants will have no idea what to do. |
| B．Other ants will take their place and do the work. |
| C．The tunnels will get blocked and the work will stop. |
| D．The leader will compensate them and give them food as the reward. |
| A．fire ants are the most diligent insects. |
| B．scientists may diagnose illness more easily. |
| C．people may feel happy when they watch their colleagues do nothing. |
| D．scientists can deal with robotics better when coming to specific programs. |
【推荐3】Less than 5 percent of elephants die from cancer, and researchers may have finally figured out why.
According to a study from The University of Chicago, elephants produce "zombie genes" (僵尸基因)that can help protect the animal from cancer.
Here's how it works: Humans and other animals carry one copy of a " master tumor suppressor" Gene(主肿瘤抑制基因). Elephants have 20 copies. Scientists found that gene can cause a "zombie gene" to come back to life with a new purpose: killing cells in damaged DNA.
This is beneficial. because it acts in response to genetic mistakes, errors made when the DNA is being repaired, said Vincent Lynch, an assistant professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago and the study's lead author, in a statement. " Getting rid of that cell can prevent a subsequent cancer. "
Scientists say the gene also helps elephants enjoy long lives. They likely emerged roughly 25 to 30 million years ago, when small - sized ancestors of modern elephants grew bigger, Lynch said.
Researchers want to conduct more studies to find out exactly how the genes in elephants kill off cells in damaged DNA. That could help humans: Studying how animals' bodies fight off cancer could lead to strategies to treat people. An estimated 17% of people worldwide die of cancer, according to the study published in the journal Cell Reports.
"If we can understand how these genomic changes (基因组变化 ) are contributing to cancer resistance, then we'll be able to start thinking about how we translate these to our patients. "Joshua Schiffman professor of pediatrics at University of Utah and an investigator at Huntsman Cancer Institute, said in an interview with CNN.
1. Why do elephants have a lower risk of dying from cancer than humans?| A．They have less "zombie genes". |
| B．They eat less meat and more grass. |
| C．They are huge enough to kill cells in damaged DNA. |
| D．They have more copies of a "master tumor suppressor" gene. |
| A．it can prolong elephants' lives | B．it can be transplanted into humans |
| C．it can kill cells, in damaged DNA | D．it can bring "zombie genes" back to life |
| A．genomic changes | B．cancer resistance |
| C．animals bodies | D．cells in damaged DNA |
| A．How many people die of cancer. |
| B．What kind of gene can kill the cancer |
| C．Why we adopt the strategies to treat people. |
| D．How the genes defeat the cells in damaged DNA. |
【推荐1】You are just waking up in the spring of 2030. Your Internet of Things bedroom opens solar-powered e-windows and plays gentle music while your smart lighting displays a montage(蒙太奇) of beachfront sunrises from your recent vacation.
Your shower uses very little water or soap. It recycles your grey water and puts the extra heat back into your home's integrated operating system. While you dress, your artificial intelligence (Al) assistant shares your schedule for the day and plays your favourite tunes.
You still start your day with caffeine but it comes from your loT refrigerator which is capable of providing a coffeehouse experience in your home. A hot breakfast tailored to your specific nutritional needs (based on chemical analysis from your trips to the "smart toilet") is waiting for you in the kitchen.
When it's time to leave, an on-demand transport system has three cars waiting for you, your spouse and your kids. On the road, driverless cars and trucks move with mathematical precision, without traffic jams. Accident rates are near zero.
En route, you call your R&.D team, who are wrapping up a day's work in Shanghai. Your life-sized image will be projected,which makes your colleagues see you as if you were sitting with them. It's a bit surreal(超现实的)for them to see you in the morning light given that it's dark on the Bund, Shanghai's waterfront, though the novelty fades after a few uses.
You review the day's cloud-based data from your Shenzhen manufacturing centre, your pilot project in San Diego, and your QA team in Melbourne. The massive datasets are collected in realtime from every piece of equipment and have been beautifully summarized by your company's AI. All these facilities are closely maintained and operated via a skilled predictive analytics platform. Pleased with the team's progress, you end the call and ease into a good book. This is the future and it will be here sooner than you think.
1. What will happen when you dress yourself according to the text?| A．Your schedule is sent to your boss. |
| B．Bedroom opens quickly. |
| C．Your favourite tunes are played. |
| D．Your coffee is ordered and served. |
| A．Made specially. |
| B．Mixed similarly. |
| C．Produced in advance. |
| D．Invented traditionally. |
| A．Because the team makes progress. |
| B．Because your images are wrapped up. |
| C．Because you did it ahead of time. |
| D．Because your life-sized picture is projected. |
| A．Why we need AI assistants. |
| B．What life will be like in 2030. |
| C．How we find meaningful work in the future. |
| D．How AI helps you lead an important life. |
【推荐2】In the 1960s and 1970s, the greatest fear was that the human race, and possibly all advanced life forms on the planet, could be wiped out by nuclear missiles. Today, however, environmental problems have taken over as the greatest risk to life on Earth. Scientists are thinking of ways to lower this risk, such as replacing coal and oil with forms of renewable energy. But they are also preparing for the worst: what can we do if the terrifying scenes in films such as The Day After Tomorrow happen in real life? What is our plan B for Earth?
One option is to explore other planets to see if we could live on them. The most likely choice is Mars, which is relatively close to Earth and has an environment less hostile than that of other planets. Mars has fascinated people since ancient times, and today our interest in Martian exploration is greater than ever before. Besides, more governments are making efforts to educate the public on the Red Planet.
There is no doubt that humankind is drawn towards Mars. However, sending people there will require all the skill, courage and intelligence. While the Moon can be reached within days, it would take months to reach Mars, travelling through dangerous solar radiation. And even if the first settlers do reach Mars safely, they may not be able to return to Earth — ever. Staying alive will be a daily challenge, but as proved by the Biosphere 2 experiment, not impossible. As early as the 1980s, scientists were building Biosphere 2 in the Arizona desert, consisting of a closed space in which people, animals and plants could live together. Although the two-year experiment was not a success, it did provide us with a better understanding of how humans might be able to live on another planet.
For now, human settlement of Mars is still decades away. Until we are finally able to live on another planet, we need to take much better care of our own. Right now, it's the only one we have!
1. What was the biggest threat to humans in the 1960s and 1970s?| A．Human race themselves. | B．All advanced life forms. |
| C．Nuclear missiles. | D．Environmental problems. |
| A．It's closest to the earth. |
| B．It has relatively appropriate living conditions. |
| C．It has drawn the public's attention in recent years. |
| D．It has a more hostile environment. |
| A．Humans have visited Mars. |
| B．The Biosphere 2 experiment proved to be valueless. |
| C．Humans will have to go and live on another planet. |
| D．Our Plan A includes developing renewable energy resources. |
| A．The Traveler. | B．Environmental Concerns. |
| C．All About Space. | D．Biology for Fun, |
【推荐3】It‟s no secret that American infrastructure is aging. Concrete(混凝土) structures, in particular, are in desperate need of repair.
Cracks (缝隙) are very common due to various chemical and physical phenomena that occur during everyday use, which can be quite harmful as they provide an easy route in for liquids and gasses and the harmful substances they might contain. But continuous repair work is difficult because it usually requires a huge amount of labor and investment. So since 2013, I‟ve been trying to figure out how these harmful cracks could heal themselves without human involvement. The idea was originally inspired by the amazing ability of the human body to heal itself of cuts, bruises and broken bones. In the same way, can we provide necessary products to concrete to fill in cracks when damage happens?
My colleagues from Binghamton University and I have found an unusual candidate to help concrete heal itself: a fungus (真菌) called Trichoderma reesei. We initially screened about 20 different species of fungi in order to find one that could stand the difficult conditions in concrete. Of all the fungi we tested, only T. reesei could survive this environment. Despite the sudden PHincrease, its spores (孢子) developed into threadlike things and grew equally well with or without concrete.
We propose including fungal spores, together with nutrients, during the initial mixing process when building a new concrete structure. When the unavoidable cracking occurs and water finds its way in, the sleeping fungal spores will start to grow. They then will work as an activator within the calcium-rich conditions of the concrete to promote precipitation (析出) of calcium carbonatecrystals. These mineral deposits can fill in the cracks. If cracks form again and environmental conditions become favorable, the spores could wake up and repeat the process.
Our research is still in the initial stage and there’s a long way to go to make self-healing concrete practical and cost-effective. But the scope of American infrastructure’s challenges makes exploring creative solutions like this worthwhile.
1. Why does the author mention the self-healing of human body?| A．To show how amazing human body is. |
| B．To prove everything will turn out to be fine. |
| C．To provide a possibility of concrete healing itself. |
| D．To stress that it’s unnecessary to have medicines. |
| A．It has been applied to building a new concrete. |
| B．It can bear the tough conditions in concrete. |
| C．Its spores will be useless after one repair. |
| D．It poses potential risks to environment. |
| A．The challenges of American infrastructure. | B．The research on self-healing concrete. |
| C．The process of cracking. | D．The promotion of spores. |
| A．The Danger of Cracks | B．The Aging of American Infrastructure |
| C．The Most Powerful Fungus | D．Concrete Filling Its Own Cracks |
