Robots teach humans to be more compassionate

山東威海乳山市教學研究中心 劉 娜

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難詞探意

1.algorithm/'?lɡ?r?e?m/n.（尤指計算機使用的）算法；計算程序

2.framework/'fre?mwз?k/n.框架；信仰；準則

3.humanitarian/hju?,m?n?'te?ri?n/adj.人道主義的

4.compassionate/k?m'p???n?t/adj.富有同情心的

5.momentum/m?'ment?m/n.動量；動力

預讀思考

1.Do you think robots can be more compassionate than man?Why or why not?

2.As AI is more and more widely applied，do you think it will eventually replace man?What is your attitude towards this?

3.Can you find any expressions about compassionate from the text?Please list them as many as possible.

Robots are now teaching humans how to be more humane.

Humana Pharmacy created an AIalgorithmfor their call centers that instruct employees to be kinder and more empathetic to customers.The program is designed to inform the call centeremployeesifthey are speaking too quickly,too loudly or softly or if they have remained quiet for a given amount of time.The AI looks for certain behaviors and patterns that would indicate unkind communication such as a raised voice,fast speaking,long silences and other indicators that could be tied to lack of empathy or frustration.The program's intention is to have the agents better understand how to communicate more efficiently by analyzing the speakers'voice.

While the AI can detect certain voices,it is nowhere near the point of comprehension of human emotions.CEO of Cogito,Joshua Feast,told USA Today that he views the system as more ofa coach than a replacementfor employees.

“I don't think human customer agents will be completely replaced,”Feast told USA Today.“Humans will always want to talk to other humans.The reason is that only other humans really understand us.”

This is not the first time that AI has stepped into the world ofhumanity and compassion.Artificial intelligence scientist,Dr AmitRayintroducedtheconceptofDeep Compassion algorithmsandframeworksfor compassion last year.He demonstrated how we can use machine learning algorithms to solvehumanitarianneedssuch astheneed forcompassionatecare-giving,helping physically and mentally challenged people, reducing human pain and diseases,stoppingnuclear warfare,preventing mass destruction weapons and tackling terrorism.He also addresses AI for precision medicine,new drug discovery,education,and the legal system.

Based on these algorithms,there is a lot ofmomentumin the developmentofthese possibilities ofcompassionate AI and the potential to help “save the world”as some would say is thrilling.As artificial intelligence becomes more popular and rooted in our lives and our careers,it will increasingly be more common to see these things be utilized to improve our jobs rather than take them.

—FromForbes

閱讀自測

1.What does the text mainly talk about?

A.The future of robots in our daily life.

B.AI is making people more empathetic.

C.Robots are replacing man in certain fields.

D.Different attitudes towards the application of AI.

2.How can AI make an employee more compassionate?

A.By observing the employee's behaviors and patterns.

B.By controlling and adjusting the employee's volume.

C.By detecting certain voices and giving suggestions.

D.By comprehending human emotions and making adjustment.

3.Why does the author refer to the concept of Deep Compassion algorithms and frameworks?

A.To emphasize the importance of the application of AI.

B.To get the readers to be conscious of the function of AI.

C.To prove AI had existed in humanity and compassion before.

D.To demonstrate the wide application of AI in various fields.

文本探究

探究視角1：語言學習

Ⅰ.文本填空

1.The program is designed to inform the call center employees _________they are speaking too quickly,too loudly or softly or if they have remained quiet for a_________(give)amount of time.

2.The AI looks for certain behaviors and patterns _________would indicate unkind communication such as a raised voice,fast speaking,long silences and other indicators that could be tied ________ lack of empathy or frustration.

3.Joshua Feast told USA Today that he views the system ________more of a coach than a replacement for employees.

4.The reason is ________only other humans really understand us.

5.This is not the first time that AI ________（step） into the world of humanity and compassion.

6. _________（base）on these algorithms,there is a lot of momentum in the development of these possibilities of compassionate AI and the potential to help “save the world” as some would say is thrilling.

Ⅱ.寫作推薦

1.While the AI can detect certain voices,it is nowhere near the point of comprehension of human emotions.

【信息提取】It be nowhere near the point of...意為“遠未接近……的程度”。

【句式仿寫】盡管我們做了很多努力，但遠未接近完美的程度。

2.The reason is that only other humans really understand us.

【信息提取】The reason be that...意為 “原因是……”，此句型可拓展為The reason why...be that...“……的原因是……”。

【句式仿寫】他遲到的原因是他錯過了早班車。

Ⅲ.關于“同情心”的表達

1.compassionate adj.富有同情心的

2.be more humane更有人情味的

3.be kinder and more empathetic to對……更和善、更有同情心

4.unkind communication不友好的交流

5.be tied to lack of empathy or frustration與缺乏同情心或與挫折感相關

6.better understand how to communicate more efficiently更好地理解如何更高效地溝通

7.only other humans really understand us只有其他人真正理解我們

8.step into the world of humanity and compassion走進充滿人性和同情的世界

9.solve humanitarian needs解決人道主義需求

10.the need for compassionate care-giving需要有同情心的照顧

11.reduce human pain and diseases減少人的痛苦和疾病

探究視角2：語篇分析

科技的發展有助于我們人類更好地認識自己，改變自己。使用科技造福人類是我們共同的訴求。AI能夠智能識別雇員的聲音變化和停頓時間，并給出相應的溝通建議，從而助力雇員更好地服務客戶。但這是否意味著AI可以代替雇員呢？AI的應用前景又該如何呢？文章就此進行了分析。

本文是一篇說明文。說明文的目的在于客觀地說明事物或闡明事理。其基本結構一般有以時間為序的，也有以空間為序的；有從現象到本質的，也有由主到次的；有按工藝流程順序說明的，也有按事物的性質、功用、原理等順序說明的。找出說明文的基本結構，即可以梳理出文本的主線。

本文是一篇介紹科技發明的文章。結構如下：

S t r u c t u r e P a r a g r a p h（s） M a i n i d e a（s）T o p i c P a r a.1 R o b o t s a r e t e a c h i n g h u m a n s t o b e m o r e h u m a n e.P r i n c i p l e P a r a.2 A I c a n d e t e c t c e r t a i n v o i c e s a n d g i v e t h e e m p l o y e e s s u g g e s t i o n s.A t t i t u d e P a r a.3&4 ●A I i s f a r f r o m c o m p r e h e n d i n g h u m a n e m o t i o n s.●H u m a n c u s t o m e r a g e n t s w i l l n o t b e c o m p l e t e l y r e p l a c e d.A p p l i c a t i o n P a r a.5&6●A I h a s s t e p p e d i n t o t h e w o r l d o f h u m a n i t y a n d c o m p a s s i o n.●C o m p a s s i o n a t e A I h a s t h e p o t e n t i a l t o b e u t i l i z e d o n a l a r g e r s c a l e.

探究視角3：說明方法

舉例、分類、對比、打比方、列數字等是說明文經常用的說明方法。通過這些說明方法，作者可以分析事物產生的原因及后果或給事物下定義。我們在閱讀說明文時要關注這些說明方法并體會它們的用途。

說明方法 舉例舉例子 （P a r a.5）A r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e s c i e n t i s t,D r A m i t R a y...a n d t h e l e g a l s y s t e m.做比較 （P a r a.3）W h i l e t h e A I c a n d e t e c t c e r t a i n v o i c e s,...t h a n a r e p l a c e m e n t f o r e m p l o y e e s.

探究視角4：思維拓展

科技與同情心

同情心是什么？《劍橋詞典》解釋如是：“a strong feeling of sympathy and sadness for the suffering or bad luck of others and a wish to help them”。 換言之，Compassion is the feeling of empathy or sympathy towards a person in need.It is a sense of shared suffering and is generally regarded as the cornerstone of humanity.

技術只是工具，其改變人類社交的方式取決于我們如何利用。因此，要善于利用技術，助力人類培養同情心。人類發明的AI是否能像人們一樣真切地感受到人類的歡樂與痛苦呢？是否真的能和我們感同身受呢？或許，時間才是最好的答案。

So,how can we be a more compassionate person?The following tips may be helpful.

Begin with self-compassion.

We can be hard on others,but usually the victims who get the pressure of our harshness,are ourselves.

Find similarities.

Look for commonalities,not differences.This will help you to relate to them,not see them as a stereotype and in the end create a bond enabling you to feel compassion.

Cultivate appreciation.

Compassion is based upon comparison of sorts between what you and another person experience.

Simply listen.

When in conversation with another person,we can be thinking about what we want to say next.We seek the next opportunity to add our ten cents.

Be present.

You can help yourself to become more present by practicing meditation.Thus,you'll be better able to concentrate on the people around you who may need your time and attention.

Give back.

Acts of generosity and thoughtfulness inspire more of the same,into a chain reaction of goodness.

●寫作實踐

假定你是李華。你正在給Crazy English投稿，談你對“科技與同情心”這一話題的認識。請你根據以下要點寫一篇150詞左右的文章。要點如下：

1.科技與同情心的關系；

2.你對培養同情心的建議。

注意：可以適當增加細節，以使行文連貫。

Dear Editor-in-chief of Crazy English，

Yours,

Li Hua