【推荐1】The new and publicly-available ChatGPT is a type of AI that has been “trained” by looking at over 8 million web pages. When asked a question, ChatGPT uses this training to produce detailed (详尽的) answers as if they were written by a human. You can ask it anything and it will give you answers to not only follow-up questions but also professional questions (although it does sometimes make mistakes). You can also ask it to write text, such as short stories or essays. The technology is so promising (有前途的) that some people believe it will overtake Google in the near future.

For many years it has been expected that AI will become an important part of our lives, and for just as long there has been concern (担心) of the trouble that AI could cause. In the 20th century, scientists, philosophers and writers sometimes worried that AI would become too powerful. In the short story I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, a very large supercomputer has killed every human on earth except five people it keeps to torture (折磨). And in the 1984 film The Terminator, a powerful AI called Skynet used time travel to send a robot into the past to try to kill the mother of a brave and strong fighter against AI. On the other hand, some people were optimistic (乐观的) about advanced technologies’ potential (潜力) to build a better world. In the 1960s TV show Lost in Space, a family of humans were helped by a friendly robot named Robby.

Nowadays, there is less concern of an all-powerful AI trying to destroy the world, and we are not expecting friendly robots just yet. That doesn’t mean there is not a lot of excitement and concern being felt towards new technologies like AI, though. ChatGPT is a great example of a modern technology that is causing mixed feelings.

It’s too soon to say what kind of influence ChatGPT will have on our lives. Let’s hope that, if ChatGPT does become bigger and more popular, its effects are mostly positive (积极的). So, what do you think? Will ChatGPT be good, bad, or somewhere in between for humans?

【推荐2】Ancient art doesn’t have to be boring. Technology in the 21st century can help to bring it to life by combining(融合) the best of the old and the new.

Along the River During the Qingming Festival

Walking into the China Pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, people were amazed by seeing a huge digital(数码的) painting. Scientists digitised(数码化) the famous painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival by Chinese artist Zhang Zeduan.

The original(原先的) painting shows life during the Northern Song period and it includes many details of ancient Chinese customs, lifestyle sand technology.

▲ Farmers work in the fields, sailors move around their boats and people eat and do business in restaurants. Parts of the background are also animated(做成动画). You can see the wind blowing through the trees and across the water. These animations perfectly combine modern technology and ancient art.

Digital technology allows today’s artists to express their ideas in ways that ancient artists would not believe possible. Techniques such as animation, and 3D digital projection(投影) make art come alive.

Dunhuang Cave Paintings

Dunhuang Caves, which are protected ancient treasures in the Gobi desert in Northwest China, are filled with paintings and sculptures with lasting value. This artwork was created over a period of around 1,000 years.

The good news is for art lovers who cannot travel and for the caves. Scientists have created a 360-degree, 3D digital projection of the caves, which makes the artwork come alive. There is also a function(功能) that lets viewers zoom in and enjoy the paintings and sculptures in greater detail.

Digitising ancient art allows us to explore the ancient practices. It also makes the whole world understand the art while protecting the original artworks for the future.

Getting to Know Mom

“For as long as I can remember, mom has been a middle-aged woman, but no one told me she used to be a young girl?” This is a line from the film Hi, Mom, as well as the way director and star Jia Ling once felt about her own mother.

The film is based on the real-life story of Jia and her mother, showing her longing and regret at failing to see her mother before she died. To make the film more appealing (有吸引力的), Jia made it a time travel story. She goes back to 1981 and becomes friends with her own mom. She risks giving up her own life and disappearing to make sure that her mother has a better fixture.

Released on Feb 12, the film has gotten a high score of 8.1 on the movie rating website Douban. Many people said they were touched by its raw emotion and praised its sincere depiction (描绘) of female roles.

TEENS