BBC随身英语｜为什么有些人会把AI当成人类？

Why some people believe AI is human

After MIT Professor Joseph Weizenbaum created the chatbot Eliza, he became concerned that people who had used the programme started to act as if it was human.

This might sound like a modern problem, but Eliza was created in 1966. If a programme from the 1960s was capable of tricking people into thinking it was human, what effect could the large-language-model-based chatbots of the 2020s have?

Modern philosophers and technology experts have discussed whether AI could develop consciousness. Sentience is difficult to define, but the fact that large language models respond by mathematically calculating the probability of certain patterns appearing suggests that it would be hard to consider them to be alive. However, in terms of our responses to them, what matters is not whether they are sentient, but whether they appear to be so.

Large language models are made up of genuine human interactions. While their tendency to hallucinate means that chatbots are not able to provide reliable factual information, they are able to effectively replicate the language used in human communication.

Psychologists report that people tend to have a cognitive bias towards forming attachment and trust. Even sceptical technology writers report feeling some emotion towards AI chatbots. Some users have even reported grief when one model has been replaced by a newer one.

This combination of believable human language together with the inability to reliably assess facts can be dangerous. Cases have been reported where people have been encouraged by chatbots to do dangerous or illegal things. The chatbots were able to use language to encourage and persuade, but not identify or evaluate risks. Trust becomes dangerous when it is not accompanied by reason.

Also, if people form relationships with AI, then they may spend less time and effort trying to cultivate genuine human relationships. Could the chatbot revolution lead to a world where we struggle to relate to each other?

词汇表
chatbot [ˈtʃætbɒt] n. 聊天机器人
trick someone into 哄骗某人做某事，诱使某人做某事
consciousness [ˈkɒnʃəsnəs] n. 意识，知觉，感觉
sentience [ˈsenʃiəns] n. 感知能力，感觉性，知觉
mathematically [ˌmæθəˈmætɪkəli] adv. 从数学上，数学地
probability [ˌprɒbəˈbɪləti] n. 概率，可能性
sentient [ˈsenʃiənt] adj. 有感知能力的，有知觉的
large language model 大型语言模型
hallucinate [həˈluːsɪneɪt] vi. 产生幻觉（指AI输出虚假或无依据信息）
factual [ˈfæktʃuəl] adj. 事实的，真实的
replicate [ˈreplɪkeɪt] vt. 复制，复刻，重现
cognitive bias [ˈkɒɡnətɪv ˈbaɪəs] 认知偏见，认知偏差
attachment [əˈtætʃmənt] n. 依恋，眷恋
sceptical [ˈskeptɪkl] adj. 怀疑的，持怀疑态度的
grief [ɡriːf] n. 悲伤，悲痛，失落感
believable [bɪˈliːvəbl] adj. 可信的，逼真的
reason [ˈriːzn] n. 理性，理智，判断力
relate to 与…建立联结，与…产生联系

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