1 . Nearly three-quarters (73 percent)of US adults believe artificial intelligence will “eliminate more jobs than it creates,” according to a Gallup survey. But, the same survey found that less than a quarter (23 percent)of people were “worried” or “very worried” automation would affect them personally. Notably, these figures vary depending on education. For respondents with only a four-year college degree or less, 28 percent were worried about AI taking their job, for people with at least a bachelor degree, that figure was 15 percent.
Will AI destroy jobs or create them? No one really knows. On the surface, these answers suggest ignorance, or short-sightedness, but they also reflect a deep divide among experts on what exactly the effects of new technology will have on the workplace. Studies trying to estimate job losses caused by advances in robotics and AI vary wildly.
Historically, though, technology usually leads to a net gain in jobs, destroying some professions but creating new ones in the process. What’s different this time around, argue some economists and AI experts, is that machines are smarter than they were, and historical examples don’t offer a useful comparison.
Considering these contradictory predictions, it’s no wonder that most Americans think automation is someone else’s problem. This isn’t ignorance, either. Even in high-risk industries like truck driving, there’s only so much automation can do. A computer can drive on a highway, yes, but it can’t repair a truck, unload its goods, argue with unhelpful warehouse managers, or even refill the gas tank. Not yet anyway.
The findings from Gallup’s survey also show that the use of AI is already widespread in the US. Nearly 9 out of 10 Americans (85 percent) use at least one of six devices or services that use features of artificial intelligence. 84 percent of people use navigation (导航) apps like Waze, and 72 percent use streaming services like Netflix. 47 percent use digital assistants on their smartphones, and 22 percent use them on devices like Amazon’s Echo.
AI is something integrated into products and jobs bit by bit. You might not think that Netflix’s predictions of what you want to watch next count as artificial intelligence(or that they’re even intelligent at all),but they’re helped the service steal viewers from traditional TV and cable companies by shaping the creation of shows like House of Cards. Measuring this sort of impact in economic surveys is understandably hard.
Gallup’s survey helps illustrate AI is not some mysterious event that will change the world overnight at some point in the future. It’s something that is already happening. As Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of Gallup, told The New York Times: “Whether they know it or not, AI has moved into a big percent of Americans’ lives in one way or another already.”
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE?| A．The more education one receives, the more worried he is about job losses. |
| B．The development of technology used to create more jobs than it eliminated. |
| C．Most Americans are afraid that AI is becoming a threat to their current jobs. |
| D．People ignore the divide among experts on the impact of AI on workplace. |
| A．conflicting | B．reasonable |
| C．ridiculous | D．objective |
| A．Because truck drivers are more likely to get into accidents. |
| B．Because truck drivers usually have to do a lot of manual labor. |
| C．Because computers can take the place of the drivers to drive. |
| D．Because trucks can be produced and repaired by computers. |
| A．AI will lead to more unemployment in the future. |
| B．AI is gradually changing different aspects of our life. |
| C．The hidden impact of AI on job losses is meansurable. |
| D．All the TV viewers will turn to streaming services someday. |
