美国国家公共电台 NPR--Has AI reached the point where a software program can do better work than you?

Has AI reached the point where a software program can do better work than you?

Transcript¹

NPR's Rob Schmitz talks to Ethan Mollick of the University of Pennsylvania about an artificial intelligence program that uses AI to compose college essays, news stories, poems and even sitcoms².

ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:

Has artificial intelligence reached the point where a software program can do better work than you? Today we will be talking about ChatGPT, a powerful tool that can assist with a wide range of tasks, from generating humanlike text to providing helpful answers to questions. We'll be exploring the capabilities³ of ChatGPT and how it is being used in various industries. In fact, the last two sentences I just read to you were written not by me but by ChatGPT, a bot. A professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Ethan Mollick, has also been experimenting with ChatGPT. He joins me now to show me how ChatGPT works. Welcome.

ETHAN MOLLICK: Thank you. I'm glad to be here.

SCHMITZ: So, Ethan, I was exposed to ChatGPT when I was hanging out with some friends this weekend, and we were talking about this very interview. And suddenly, the heads of all the teenagers in the room popped up, and they said, oh, we have that on our cellphones. This apparently⁴ is a thing among teenagers.

MOLLICK: It is, I think, a universal thing. Very quickly, there's a sort of TikTok fun phenomenon. But also, I would challenge you to find a single school where there are not a large number of people using this in their classes, whether the teachers know it or not.

SCHMITZ: And how do they typically use it?

MOLLICK: I mean, there's a few things, right? So the most obvious thing and the thing people come away with if they play with ChatGPT for just a few minutes is, wow, I can cheat on essays with this thing. And then if they spend a couple more minutes, they say, well, I can cheat on creating software code or translating language. But the uses actually go way beyond that, and I've been amazed by what some of my students have been reporting about how they're using the capabilities.

SCHMITZ: Well, explain that a little. What other noncheating uses can it offer us?

MOLLICK: Well, I mean, so many. But just on the education side, you can actually use it to - you can paste in an essay and ask it to correct it. You can paste in entire academic papers and ask it to summarize it. You can ask it to find an error in your code and correct it and tell you why you got it wrong. It really is this general companion for all kinds of purposes.

SCHMITZ: So I now have ChatGPT opened up in front of me on a laptop. Can you walk me through this? How do I use this?

MOLLICK: So the best way to think about this is you are chatting with a omniscient⁵, eager-to-please intern⁶ who sometimes lies to you.

SCHMITZ: (Laughter).

MOLLICK: And if you sort of take that approach, you're going to be in great shape.

SCHMITZ: All right.

MOLLICK: Let's have it describe something or explain something to us. What's something that you're interested in that we can have it write an essay to us about? And then let's play with that a little bit.

SCHMITZ: Well, I'm in public radio, so maybe a story, a radio story?

MOLLICK: Sure. Pick a topic.

SCHMITZ: Let's talk about frogs.

MOLLICK: Great. Why don't we say, create an NPR story about frogs?

SCHMITZ: Can you create an NPR story about frogs?

MOLLICK: Perfect.

SCHMITZ: Title - "The Fascinating World Of Frogs." (Reading) As anyone who has visited a pond or marsh⁷ on a warm summer evening can attest⁸, frogs are a common and fascinating part of our natural world. These amphibians⁹, which belong to the order Anura, are known for their distinctive¹⁰ croaking¹¹ calls and their ability to hop¹² and swim with ease.

It just goes on and on. It's talking about a giant goliath frog. It's talking about tiny frogs that are the size of your fingernail.

MOLLICK: Yeah, this is a little long. Why don't you actually just have it do it as a rhyming poem instead? So just say, can you do this as a rhyming poem?

SCHMITZ: Yeah. Can you write this as a rhyming poem? Here we go. (Reading) In ponds and marshes¹³ on a warm summer night, you'll hear the croaks¹⁴ of frogs, a common sight. They belong to the order Anura, you see, with a unique life cycle for you and me.

I was expecting a little more from ChatGPT, to be honest. I - so, OK, I'm starting to understand both the curiosity of this as well as the limitations of this. How have you used ChatGPT?

MOLLICK: So in education, I actually tried to figure out how much I could automate¹⁵ my job. And I'm a professor of entrepreneurship at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. I teach MBAs. So I asked it to create an MBA syllabus¹⁶. And...

SCHMITZ: Wait. You asked ChatGPT to create an MBA syllabus?

MOLLICK: Absolutely. I mean, it created a pretty good syllabus for an MBA class. And then I said, OK, well, that's interesting. Could you create a final assignment for that class? It gave me the final assignment - again, a really nice business plan assignment. Can you give me the grading rubric for it? It broke down the grading and gave me a table of points. I said, could you give me the beginning of the second lecture that I would have to give in this MBA syllabus? And it wrote me the lecture. It's this multiplier of ability that I think we are not quite getting our heads around that is absolutely stunning¹⁷.

SCHMITZ: When we started this conversation, we started talking about how the - you know, some of the first users are teenagers because they use it to cheat on essays. What are some of the concerns and ethical¹⁸ implications that this calls into question?

MOLLICK: I think we are just barely starting to get our hands around this. You know, is it ethical to have the AI write you a draft that you modify? Is it ethical for you to paste in text and ask it to improve it? You add in the other aspect - it's frequently wrong or lies with complete confidence. How do we work with that piece? So I think we don't understand what the implications of this are yet, and I think they're much more profound than people are thinking. It's going to replace all of us. So just be ready for that.

SCHMITZ: Really? Is this really going to replace all of us?

MOLLICK: I don't think anyone knows what the future really holds. There's two options, right? Option 1 is it multiplies your ability to do work because you can have it do 10 drafts of a story and keep the stuff you like. So in the best version of the world, you are out there, and you're going to use this to multiply your work 10 or 12 times. And I already hear people doing this all the time. They're using it to create bios, agendas - whatever you want - write letters.

SCHMITZ: Sure. But, I mean, you're saying multiply your work, but at the same time, I can also foresee something like this, if it has a little more accuracy, to actually take people's jobs. It could report on news, and you wouldn't know whether it's factual or not.

MOLLICK: Absolutely. I - actually, I was just interviewed on a television station live, where it turns out all the questions were asked by ChatGPT, and I didn't know it. They sounded great. This is what I mean. I actually think that there is sort of a dawning realization¹⁹ you have when you play with this, which is what do we do? So I was giving you the upside case. The upside case is it multiplies your capabilities and intelligence a hundred times. The downside is how many of us do we need? And I don't have answers to those questions.

SCHMITZ: Ethan Mollick is a professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Ethan, thank you.

MOLLICK: Excellent. Thanks for having me.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 sitcoms   

n.情景喜剧( sitcom的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This is the stuff most stadard TV sitcoms are made of. 这是大多数标注的电视幽默剧所采用的题材。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In most countries, prime-time Monday night television is dominated by sitcoms. 在大多数国家，周一晚上的电视黄金时段都由连续剧所占据。 来自互联网

3 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 omniscient   

adj.无所不知的；博识的

参考例句：

• He's nervous when trying to potray himself as omniscient.当他试图把自己描绘得无所不知时，内心其实很紧张。
• Christians believe that God is omniscient.基督教徒相信上帝是无所不知的。

6 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

7 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

8 attest   

vt.证明，证实；表明

参考例句：

• I can attest to the absolute truth of his statement. 我可以证实他的话是千真万确的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place. 这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

9 amphibians   

两栖动物( amphibian的名词复数 )； 水陆两用车； 水旱两生植物； 水陆两用飞行器

参考例句：

• The skin of amphibians is permeable to water. 两栖动物的皮肤是透水的。
• Two amphibians ferry them out over the sands. 两辆水陆两用车把他们渡过沙滩。

10 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

11 croaking   

v.呱呱地叫( croak的现在分词 )；用粗的声音说

参考例句：

• the croaking of frogs 蛙鸣
• I could hear croaking of the frogs. 我能听到青蛙呱呱的叫声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

13 marshes   

n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
• We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 croaks   

v.呱呱地叫( croak的第三人称单数 )；用粗的声音说

参考例句：

• A burst of noisy croaks came from the pond. 从池塘里传来了一阵喧噪的蛙鸣。 来自互联网
• The noise in the zoo turned out to be the croaks of bullfrogs. 动物园里喧噪得很，原来是一群牛蛙在叫。 来自互联网

15 automate   

v.自动化；使自动化

参考例句：

• Many banks have begun to automate.许多银行已开始采用自动化技术。
• To automate the control process of the lathes has become very easy today.使机床的控制过程自动化现已变得很容易了。

16 syllabus   

n.教学大纲，课程大纲

参考例句：

• Have you got next year's syllabus?你拿到明年的教学大纲了吗？
• We must try to diversify the syllabus to attract more students.我们应该使教学大纲内容多样化，可以多吸引学生。

17 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

18 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

19 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。