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0A.I. Actors Might Change Your View of Human Ones
The entertainment industry's irrepressible impulse is not just to produce movies, television or pop songs. It is also to produce people — especially women. The industry determines which kinds of humans the public will most eagerly slap down cash to see. Then it finds a way to supply them.
This fall, a Dutch producer claimed that high-profile talent agencies were interested in her A.I. creation, an "actress" called Tilly Norwood. A.I.'s encroachment on creative work is now less of a laughing matter, and real actors were quick to denounce Norwood.
Emily Blunt called the idea "terrifying." Whoopi Goldberg called it "scary." The SAG-AFTRA union said Norwood wasn't an actor at all: "It has no life experience to draw from."
Two months before Tilly Norwood's debut, the clothing retailer American Eagle released a fall denim campaign featuring the "Euphoria" actress Sydney Sweeney. The culture-war hooks were obvious. Sweeney is in fact a human, with any number of mannerisms that an A.I. would be unlikely to assign to a digital ingénue, like her apathetic smirk, dark eye-rolling and air of smug ennui. Such idiosyncrasies are entirely absent from Norwood's toolbox.
More than in almost any other art, A.I. acting reminds us of its own shortcomings. If anything, it makes you crave more of the grit and quirk found even in the beefcakes and the bombshells we see as pure Hollywood constructs.
It could be that a future awash in A.I. slop leads us to seek out and defend flashes of humanity, thrilling at all the things a machine can imitate but would almost certainly not invent. It could also be that an A.I. future just lowers our standards until we're pleased with even the most meager scraps of soul.
生词好句
irrepressible 英 [ˌɪrɪˈpresəbl] 美 [ˌɪrɪˈpresəbl] adj. 无法被压住的，难以遏制的
press v. 按压
前缀re- 表示“向后”，前缀 ir-表示“否定”
repress v. 压制，抑制
He felt an irrepressible urge to check his phone.他忍不住地想去看手机。
determine 英 [dɪˈtɜːmɪn] 美 [dɪˈtɜːrmɪn] v. （本文）查明某事的真相（to find out the facts about something）；决定
slap down cash （本文）为......砸钱；把钱“啪”地拍在桌上
slap v. 拍，打
high-profile 英 [ˌhaɪˈprəʊfaɪl] 美 [ˌhaɪˈproʊfaɪl] adj. 高规格的，备受关注的
encroachment on … 英 [ɪnˈkrəʊtʃmənt] 美 [ɪnˈkroʊtʃmənt] 对……的侵蚀
encroachment n. 逐步侵犯，慢慢侵占
Technology's encroachment on privacy has sparked public debate. 科技对隐私的侵蚀引发了公众讨论。
denounce 英 [dɪˈnaʊns] 美 [dɪˈnaʊns] v. 公开谴责、痛斥（比criticize语气更强）
hook 英 [hʊk] 美 [hʊk] n. （本文）吸引注意力的点、抓人的元素；钩子
ingénue 英 [ˈænʒənjuː] 美 [ˌænʒəˈnuː] n.（电影术语）天真单纯的女性角色
apathetic 英 [ˌæpəˈθetɪk] 美 [ˌæpəˈθetɪk]
adj. 漠不关心的，无动于衷的
Don't be so apathetic—how are you going to get a job if you don't even start looking?别那么吊儿郎当的，不开始找怎么能找到工作？
smirk 英 [smɜːk] 美 [smɜːrk] n. 带点轻蔑、带点得意的笑
dark eye-rolling 带情绪的翻白眼
smug 英 [smʌɡ] 美 [smʌɡ] adj. 自满的
ennui 英 [ɒnˈwiː] 美 [ɑːnˈwiː] n. 厌倦，倦怠
City life, for all its noise, often breeds a subtle ennui. 城市生活再喧嚣，也常滋生一种隐隐的厌倦。
idiosyncrasy 英 [ˌɪdiəˈsɪŋkrəsi] 美 [ˌɪdiəˈsɪŋkrəsi] n. 个性特征
辨析：idiosyncrasy vs. mannerism
区别：mannerism是"看得见的风格"，比如说话方式、手势或表情等；而idiosyncrasy则更深入一层，指内在独特的气质与性格构成。
前缀idio-表示"个人的"
toolbox 英 [ˈtuːlbɒks] 美 [ˈtuːlbɑːks] n. （本文）能力范围；工具箱
Critical thinking is one of the most valuable tools in your mental toolbox.批判性思维是你思维能力中最有价值的工具之一。
grit 英 [ɡrɪt] 美 [ɡrɪt] n.（本文）像沙子一样粗糙的质感，指真人自带的生命力与不精致；沙子、沙砾
quirk 英 [kwɜːk] 美 [kwɜːrk] n. 小怪癖，有点怪的小习惯
He has a quirk of raising one eyebrow when he's skeptical. 他有个一感到怀疑就挑一边眉毛的古怪小习惯。
awash in 被……充满，被……淹没（比full of语气强烈的多，通常带有“过多、难以承受”的语气）
The internet is awash in misinformation. 互联网充斥着大量错误信息。
meager 英 [ˈmiːɡə] 美 [ˈmiːɡər] adj. 微薄的，贫乏的
