美国国家公共电台 NPR--A college student aims to save us from a chatbot before it changes writing forever

A college student aims to save us from a chatbot before it changes writing forever

Transcript¹

Edward Tian, 22, used his winter break to create an app that helps teachers detect AI-generated essays. It comes at a time when schools are growing more concerned about the use of this technology.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Many teachers worry about students using ChatGPT. That's an artificial intelligence program. If you haven't heard, it's a chat bot that can easily write students' homework for them. But one college student is developing a tool for teachers to detect AI-generated essays. Emma Peaslee and Greg Rosalsky of NPR's Planet Money bring us the story.

GREG ROSALSKY, BYLINE²: While many college kids were having fun on winter break, 22-year-old Edward Tian was feverishly³ working on a new app.

EDWARD TIAN: I think we're absolutely at, like, an inflection point. This technology is incredible. And I do believe it is, like, the future. But at the same time, we needed safeguards to basically adopt it responsibly.

EMMA PEASLEE, BYLINE: Because ChatGPT is more user-friendly than past AI systems and it's free, it's been able to break through in a way that other AI systems haven't been able to.

TIAN: Everybody was talking about ChatGPT on campus. So there was a sense of like, oh, wow, this is everywhere.

PEASLEE: And students kind of immediately realized, this thing can do a lot of homework for us.

ROSALSKY: So yeah, the fall semester ends. And Edward travels home to Toronto for the holidays. But he couldn't stop thinking about this crazy new technology.

PEASLEE: A crazy new technology that could make it hard to figure out whether something has been written by a human or not. And Edward thinks this is a problem not just for, like, kids copying and pasting their homework, but also things like propaganda generated by nefarious⁴ actors.

TIAN: Humans deserve to know when something is written by a human or written by a machine.

PEASLEE: So on holiday break, Edward decides to create an app to try and address that.

TIAN: So I was like, wow, why don't I just code this out so the world can actually use it?

PEASLEE: On January 2, Edward released his app. He named it GPTZero. The app basically uses ChatGPT against itself. So when GPTZero analyzes⁵ a text, it can scan to see if it recognizes any of the same patterns that ChatGPT would generate.

TIAN: So we're basically taking one of these text generation models and asking it, hey, is this new piece of text, does it seem, like, pretty familiar to you? Like, would you probably generate it yourself?

PEASLEE: When Edward went to bed that night, he didn't expect much from the app. But the next morning, his phone had blown up. He had so many texts and DMs from journalists, principals, teachers, you name it.

ROSALSKY: Before all this, Edward's biggest plans were graduating from college and getting his wisdom teeth pulled. Now he's fielding calls from venture capital firms, education leaders and global media outlets⁶.

PEASLEE: But not everyone thinks ChatGPT is a problem. Some prominent techies are even celebrating it as the end of homework. And a lot of this talk is probably hype. But it really does feel like we've entered a new world where we're being forced to reevaluate our education system and even the value of teaching kids how to write.

ROSALSKY: Edward says the excitement and the clear demand for his new app have convinced him that he should concentrate on making it better and more accurate.

TIAN: Top priority is building this out into something that teachers can use, like, day to day in their workflow. So if you're a teacher or an educator, I'd love to talk to you. Our team, which is, right now, just me and my best friend from college, who just joined, would love to talk to you.

ROSALSKY: Greg Rosalsky.

PEASLEE: Emma Peaslee, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF MC BAPTISTE'S "MARILYN")

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 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 feverishly   

adv. 兴奋地

参考例句：

• Feverishly he collected his data. 他拼命收集资料。
• The company is having to cast around feverishly for ways to cut its costs. 公司迫切须要想出各种降低成本的办法。

4 nefarious   

adj.恶毒的，极坏的

参考例句：

• My father believes you all have a nefarious purpose here.我父亲认为你们都有邪恶的目的。
• He was universally feared because of his many nefarious deeds.因为他干了许多罪恶的勾当，所以人人都惧怕他。

5 analyzes   

v.分析( analyze的第三人称单数 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• This approach analyzes management by studying experience usually through cases. 这个学派通常从实例获得经验，用以分析管理。 来自辞典例句
• The econometrician analyzes statistical data. 经济计量学者要分析统计材料。 来自辞典例句

6 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》