評論
打印
Programming arguments
機器也能“舌戰群儒”！
For two centuries, the famous University of Cambridge debating society has hosted many prominent figures, from world leaders to scientists to comedians.
兩個世紀以來，著名的劍橋大學辯論協會邀請了無數杰出人士前來辯論，如世界領導人、科學家、喜劇演員等等。
On Nov 21, the Cambridge Union hosted its first-ever non-human guest. Designed by IBM, Project Debater is a machine that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to form a spoken argument. It can even listen and answer to opposing statements, much like a real person.
11月21日，劍橋辯論學會迎來了首位非人類嘉賓。由美國國際商用機器公司（以下簡稱IBM）設計的“辯論家計劃”是個能夠使用人工智能進行辯論的機器人。它甚至能夠聆聽并提出反駁，就像真人一樣。
Speaking with a voice similar to Siri, Project Debater uses AI to search journals, newspapers and other information sources. It then filters out useless information, picks the strongest arguments, and arranges them into a persuasive argument.
“辯論家計劃”的聲音與蘋果智能語音助手類似，它用人工智能搜索期刊、報紙以及其他信息來源。然后，它會過濾掉無用信息，選出最有力的論據，并將其組成一段有說服力的論點。
In the Cambridge test debate, it argued the topic: AI will ultimately do more harm than good. According to IBM, it is the first machine that can debate complicated topics with humans.
在劍橋的這場測試辯論賽中，該機器人就辯題“人工智能是否最終弊大于利”進行辯論。IBM表示，“辯論家計劃”是首個能夠就如此復雜的話題與人類進行辯論的機器人。
Before the debate, more than 1,100 arguments for the positives and negatives of AI were submitted to the IBM website. The machine then analyzed these sources and formed the basis of its arguments in minutes. Project Debater then showed off its AI by arguing for both sides of the debate.
辯論開始前，IBM官網上收到了1100多條關于人工智能利弊的論據。這款機器人隨后對這些來源進行了分析，并在數分鐘內形成了其論點的基礎。然后，“辯論家計劃”通過為正反兩方辯論展示了其人工智能的技術。
Over a four-minute speech, it argued first that, "AI can only make decisions that it has been programmed to solve, while humans can be programmed for all scenarios."
在一段四分鐘的演講中，機器人首先提出了這個論點：“人工智能只能解決程序中設置好的問題，但人類卻能應對各種情況?！?/div>
In support of AI, it then argued that AI would create new jobs and "bring a lot more efficiency" to the workplace.
而在支持人工智能的論點中，它又表示，人工智能可以創造新的就業機會，并為職場“大幅提高效率”。
This isn't the first test for Project Debater. In June 2018, the machine went back-and-forth for 20 minutes against champion debater Harish Natarajan. The topic was whether the government should subsidize US preschools.
這并非“辯論家計劃”首次接受測試。2018年6月，該機器人與辯論冠軍哈里什·納塔拉揚進行了一場20分鐘的唇槍舌戰。當時的辯題是美國學前教育是否應該得到政府補貼。
According to New Scientist, on both occasions, Project Debater repeated points and didn't always sufficiently support them.
《新科學家》雜志認為，在這兩次辯論中，“辯論家計劃”的論點都有重復，其論據也并非總是充分有力。
Speaking to Cambridge Independent, Noam Slonim, the project's lead engineer, said, "The AI is not perfect, but it's going in the right direction." The team hopes to improve the AI by researching why humans find certain arguments more persuasive than others. They also hope the test might shine a light on fake or one-sided narratives and provide well-informed viewpoints for society, governments and private companies.
該項目的首席工程師諾姆·斯洛尼姆在接受《劍橋獨立報》采訪時表示：“人工智能并不完美，但它的方向是正確的?！睘楦倪M人工智能，團隊對人類為何能找出更有說服力的論點進行了研究。他們也希望，這樣的測試能夠顯露虛假陳述或片面之詞的問題，并為社會、政府以及私人企業提供及時全面的觀點。
