ChatGPT and the Dawn of the New Dark Ages　ChatGPT與新黑暗時代的來臨

瓦萊麗·赫德森

Playing with ChatGPT from Open-AI has become all the rage1 at the moment. This online correspondent powered by artificial intelligence will attempt to answer your questions with a paragraphs worth of knowledge2， write lyrics or pen stories from prompts you suggested， and more， with all responses derived from information processed by algorithms.

目前，跟OpenAI所研發的ChatGPT互動已成了潮流。這位網絡筆友由人工智能驅動，它會把知識組織成段落來回答你的問題，根據你給的提示詞寫歌詞或寫故事，等等，而它所有的回答都源自經算法處理過的信息。

ChatGPT writes on the level of sophistication of about a sixth grader， Id say， scraping the vast amount of online knowledge to do so.

依我看，ChatGPT的寫作水平與六年級學生相當，它在網上搜刮了大量知識來完成寫作。

Not surprisingly， people are worried about the bias of ChatGPT： online source material can be very much in line with favored narratives， especially as social media companies have been revealed to actively bury certain viewpoints in favor of others， even burying particular unwelcome facts.

人們擔心ChatGPT會懷有偏見，這并不奇怪：網絡原始材料和大眾偏好的敘事高度一致，尤其是社交媒體公司已遭到曝光，稱它們主動隱藏某些觀點、推崇另一些，甚至隱藏某些不受歡迎的事實。

The world is starting to react. Schools are now deliberating whether to embrace ChatGPT or view it as plagiarism. Artists are suing， as lyrics and visuals created are all by definition derivative of works by human beings. Lobbyists may find their work much easier， which may not be to the public good. Troublingly， humans are also turning to ChatGPT as a kind of ouija board3， asking AI what they should do in their personal circumstances， such as whether to divorce a spouse.

全世界都開始作出反應。學校在考慮是欣然接受ChatGPT，還是將其視為剽竊。藝術家們紛紛起訴，因為AI創作的歌詞和視覺資料，按定義說都衍生自人類作品。說客們也許發覺工作更輕松了，可這對公眾利益不一定是好事。令人擔心的是，還有人把ChatGPT當作某種占卦板，向AI咨詢如何處理一些私人問題，比如要不要與配偶離婚。

Theres some larger questions here， though. With the advent of ChatGPT， there has been increasing discussion about whether Western civilization is moving into a “post-literate” era. Were at a 40-year low in the U.S. in terms of young people reading for pleasure， according to Pew Research4. Bosses complain their younger employees boast that they dont read emails—even work emails—at all. Universities are dropping requirements for standardized test scores and even personal statements from applicants. Short TikTok videos and 280-character tweets are the limited and limiting daily fare of the rising generation.

不過，還有一些更嚴峻的問題。隨著ChatGPT的出現，越來越多的人討論西方文明是否正進入“后文字”時代。皮尤研究中心的數據顯示，在美國，為樂趣而閱讀的年輕人的數量處于40年來的最低點。老板們抱怨說，他們的年輕員工夸口說壓根不看電子郵件——連工作郵件都不看。大學正逐步降低對申請者標準化考試成績乃至個人陳述的要求。國際版抖音短視頻和280個字符以內的推文是新一代人每日有限的信息源，其內容還有局限性。

Its hard not to see a post-literate Western society as the advent of a new type of Dark Ages5. What we know occurred is that the knowledge， learning and thinking skills accrued during the golden ages of Greece， Rome and Arabia were largely lost to the rising generations through war and destruction. This time around， these things are being lost to our advances in technology—but the effect is still the same.

處于后文字時代的西方社會，很難不被視為一個新型黑暗時代的前奏。……