讲解人 · John
原文
Artificial intelligence is cast as much more disruptive because it has the potential to perform so many tasks the way people do — or better.
Is the threat to human labour that different and dire this time?
What the current obsession with AI overlooks is that another (counter) force is also advancing rapidly.
In the past four decades, the number of countries in which the working age population is shrinking has risen from zero to 55, including most of the major economies.
This collapse is accelerating now because families are having even fewer children than expected.
There are signs AI is already raising output per worker, which could lower overall demand for human labour.
But the marvels of AI are more likely to ease the coming labour shortages than trigger mass unemployment.
Tech revolutions of the past killed industries, not jobs.
The 19th-century rise of machines drove workers from farms into factories, and from factories into services.
In the 1970s, automated teller machines allowed banks to cut costs, open more branches and hire more human tellers.
Starting in the 1990s, by one estimate, the internet displaced about 3.5mn US jobs but created 19mn.
It’s always easier to see which jobs are at risk now than to imagine the jobs of the future.
About a third of new US jobs are of types that did not exist 25 years earlier.
Today, the shift favours workers who know how to build infrastructure for AI, or use it as a tool.
Already, new job titles are multiplying for AI content creators, product managers, engineers and system designers.
带着问题听讲解
- 如何理解 at risk 这个表达？
- 根据文章，人们为什么担心人工智能会影响就业？
- 根据文章，作者认为人工智能更可能带来什么影响？
讲解
重点词汇
cast
/kæst/
v. 把…描述为；分配…扮演（某角色）
- 例句：He was cast as the villain.（他被选饰演反派角色。）搭配短语：to cast A as B（选派 A 扮演 B；把 A 当成 B）
- 例句：He cast the failure as a chance to learn, not as an ending.
disruptive
/dɪsˈrʌp.t̬ɪv/
adj. 引起混乱的，破坏的；颠覆性的
- 相关词汇：disrupt（v. 扰乱，中断；改变行业传统运作方式，颠覆）
- 例句：The sudden storm disrupted our picnic plans.
dire
/daɪr/
adj. 极其严重的，极可怕的
- 英文释义：extremely serious or terrible例句：The country is in dire need of food aid.
- 搭配短语：in dire need of sth.（迫切需要某物）
obsession
/əbˈseʃ.ən/
n. 痴迷，困扰
- 相关词汇：obsess（v. 使着迷，使心神不宁）
- 搭配短语：be obsessed with sth.（痴迷于…）
- 例句：She is obsessed with her weight, constantly checking the scale.（她太在意自己的体重了，老是在称体重。）
- 相关词汇：scale（n. 秤，磅秤）
搭配短语：obsession with sth.（对…的痴迷）
overlook
/ˌoʊ.vɚˈlʊk/
v. 忽视，没注意到
- 英文释义：fail to notice something
counter-
/kaʊn.t̬ɚ-/
pref. 相反的，反对的
- 词性拓展：counter（n. 柜台；v. 反对，对抗）
- 搭配短语：to counter an argument
相关词汇：counterattack（n. 反击）相关词汇：counterforce（n. 反作用力）- 文化补充：counter force 的连写形式 counterforce 更常见，剑桥等主流词典也支持连写。
shrink
/ʃrɪŋk/
v. 收缩，减少
- 例句：I'm worried about washing that shirt in case it shrinks.例句：The firm's staff had shrunk to only four people.
collapse
/kəˈlæps/
n.（系统、组织、企业等的）崩溃，瓦解；倒塌，坍塌
- 词性拓展：collapse（v. 崩溃，瓦解；倒塌，坍塌）
- 例句：His chair collapsed under his weight.（他坐的椅子被他的体重压垮了。）
- 例句：He thought that without him the whole project would collapse.
output
/ˈaʊt.pʊt/
n. 产量
- 相关短语：put out（扑灭（火焰）；生产（产品））
- 搭配短语：to put out the fire
- 例句：The factory puts out 500 cars a day.
marvel
/ˈmɑːr.vəl/
n. 令人惊叹的人或事物，奇迹
- 文化补充：漫威漫画公司（Marvel Comics）为美国漫画巨头，旗下有多个超级英雄 IP，旧译为“惊奇漫画”。词性拓展：marvel（v.（对…）感到惊奇，惊叹）
- 例句：Visitors marvel over the beauty of the city.
近义词：miracle, wonder例句：I don't know how he did it — he's an absolute marvel!
ease
/iːz/
v. 减轻，缓解
- 相关词汇：easy（adj. 容易的；舒适的；自在的）词性拓展：ease（n. 容易；舒适；自在）
- 搭配短语：with ease（轻易，毫不费劲）
- 例句：They won with ease.
- 搭配短语：at ease（不拘束，放松）
- 例句：She never feels at ease in crowded places.
搭配短语：to ease the problem搭配短语：to ease the pain搭配短语：to ease the stress
trigger
/ˈtrɪɡ.ɚ/
v. 引起，引发（坏事）
- 词性拓展：trigger（n.（枪的）扳机；引发…的原因，触发因素）
- 例句：Stress may act as a trigger for these illnesses.
automated teller machine
n. 自动取款机，自动柜员机
- 缩写：ATM相关词汇：automated（adj. 自动化的）相关词汇：teller（n. 银行出纳员）
branch
/bræntʃ/
n. 分支机构，分行，分店；树枝；支流
displace
/dɪˈspleɪs/
v. 迫使…离开常居地（或原位）；使背井离乡；取代，替代
- 词根词缀：dis-（否定；移走，分开）
- 相关词汇：discard（v. 抛弃，扔掉）
英文释义：to force something out of its usual or original position例句：More than 600,000 people were displaced by the tsunami.（超过 60 万人因海啸而流离失所。）例句：Many people worry that social media has displaced face-to-face conversations.（许多人担心，社交媒体取代了面对面的交流。）
favour
/ˈfeɪ.və/
v. 有利于，有助于；赞同；喜爱
- 拼写拓展：favor（/ˈfeɪ.vɚ/）词性拓展：favour（n. 支持，赞同；喜爱，好感）
- 搭配短语：in favour of sth.（支持某事）
搭配短语：to favour A over B（比起 B 更喜欢 A / 更倾向于 A）- 例句：She tends to favour comfort over style when choosing shoes.（她挑鞋子的时候更注重舒服，而不是时尚。）
例句：The warm climate favours many types of tropical plants.（温暖的气候有利于多种热带植物生长。）
infrastructure
/ˈɪn.frəˌstrʌk.tʃɚ/
n. 基础设施
multiply
/ˈmʌl.tə.plaɪ/
v.（使）大幅增加；乘
- 搭配短语：to multiply 3 by 5（将 3 乘以 5）例句：Smoking multiplies the risk of heart attacks and other health problems.
拓展阅读
