美国国家公共电台 NPR Need Help Deciphering That Vague Text Message? AI Wants To Help

 

SUSAN DAVIS, HOST:

Texting is the go-to way to communicate these days. It keeps us connected, but it also has some gray areas. What does that upside-down smiley face mean? Why don't people use periods at the ends of their sentences anymore? A number of tech companies are using artificial intelligence, or AI, to help improve texting relationships.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Mei can understand you and the people you chat with just based on texts that are already on your phone. Finally, an app that uses AI to empower you.

DAVIS: Rainesford Stauffer is a journalist who has written on this issue for The New York Times. She joins us now. Good morning.

RAINESFORD STAUFFER: Hi, there. Thanks so much for having me on.

DAVIS: So how are apps like Mei designed to help with texting?

STAUFFER: I think the idea behind an app like Mei is that based on text messages and call logs that come in through your phone, it is capable of detecting and understanding everything from personality and mood to how we interact and when we interact with our contacts. As it builds this personality profile, it gives you feedback on your texts. And the examples of that were really interesting. It was everything from, your mom loves you very much to, you seem like more of an introvert¹ than an extrovert² or detecting abnormal behavior if you're not texting like your usual self.

DAVIS: One thing I thought of is I thought about downloading Mei onto my phone. But then I also feel a little freaked out by the privacy component³ here. I mean, it really does have access to all of your past text messaging, all of your contacts. It seems like that might make some users a little squeamish about using this kind of technology, even if they like the idea of it.

STAUFFER: Absolutely. That was one of the things that I really got to speak to the founder⁴ about. And he did reassure⁵ me that, though they collect communication with every contact to build an accurate profile of the user, the only personally identifiable information they have is your telephone number. So they don't have your name. They couldn't pick you out of a crowd. But the person on the other end who you're corresponding with is not aware that a personality profile is being built on them or that their information is being analyzed⁶ in this way.

I think the argument to that is, you know, you could turn around and show a friend that you're sitting next to someone's text and say, hey, what do you think this means? Do you think this is a little odd? But the idea of information being harvested with the intention of analyzing⁷ mood and personality adds a little bit to that gray area of who has access to what and what we're reading into.

DAVIS: Why do people need help texting? Is it really that hard?

STAUFFER: I think that now more than ever, our communications are loaded in the sense that it's possible to read into a lot. As you said, does putting a period at the end of a sentence mean anything? Is someone's tone different? I think that we have a desire for answers about what the person on the other end of the line is thinking. And I think apps like Mei work to fill that void.

I think the most interesting element of this is the emphasis on trying to make communication and technology more human through increased technology. I think that we're really yearning⁸ for human-to-human understanding and trying to figure out how to relate to each other through all of these different forms of communication.

DAVIS: Journalist Rainesford Stauffer, thank you.

STAUFFER: Thanks so much.

1 introvert   

n.性格内向的人

参考例句：

• You are very much an introvert.你是一位地道的内向性格者。
• The same conversation that energizes the extravert also drains the introvert.同样的交谈能让外向者荣光焕发，却让内向者精神颓靡。

2 extrovert   

n.性格外向的人

参考例句：

• A good salesman is usually an extrovert,who likes to mingle with people.一个好的推销员通常很外向，喜欢和人们交往。
• Do you think you're an extrovert or introvert?你认为你是个性外向的人还是个性内向的人？

3 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

4 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

5 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

6 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

8 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。