【中嘉课堂】机器人带来的危害：不只让人失业那么简单！
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本期精读选自The Verge 上关于机械化影响的一篇文章 how hard will the robots make us work?
关于机械化和人工智能发展的危害，一个普遍的观点是它们很可能会夺走人类的工作机会。有很多的书籍都讨论过这个话题，一些持悲观态度的人认为机器会不断抢夺人类工作，导致人类失业，还有持乐观态度的人认为人类不断投入教育和科研，机器会创造出更好的，收入更高的工作。这些都是各方专家对于未来机器人带来影响的预测。
但本文的作者从一个更新颖的角度分析了人工智能现在已经带来的危害。作者认为现在的机器充当了管理者的角色，把员工高效作为极致目标，忽视工人作为人的基本需求。让现在的工作变得更高压，更让人疲累，和危险。
文章较长，我选了前三段来分析。
In warehouses, call centers, and other sectors, intelligent machines are managing humans, and they’re making work more stressful, grueling, and dangerous.
文章副标题总结全文观点：机器管理人类，导致工作高压，让人疲累以及危险。
In warehouses, call centers, and other sectors, intelligent machines are managing humans, and they’re making work more stressful, grueling, and dangerous.
在仓库，电话服务中心等其它领域，智能机器正在被用于管理人类，这让工作更加高压，疲累以及危险。
句子中提到的warehouses, call centers这两个工作领域可以积累下来作为写作中举例子的素材。
stressful, grueling, and dangerous这三个用来描述工作的形容词可以摘抄背诵。
再给两个例句加深印象。
例1：Running a marathon is grueling.
例2：Cutting diamonds can be grueling work.
On conference stages and at campaign rallies, tech executives and politicians warn of a looming automation crisis — one where workers are gradually, then all at once, replaced by intelligent machines. But their warnings mask the fact that an automation crisis has already arrived. The robots are here, they’re working in management, and they’re grinding workers into the ground.
第一个段第一句话交待了很多人对于未来智能机器会让人失业的担忧，第二三句话转回到作者自己的看法，他认为机器人现在已经带来了巨大的危机，那就是它们作为管理者，在压榨工人。
On conference stages and at campaign rallies, tech executives and politicians warn of a looming automation crisis — one where workers are gradually, then all at once, replaced by intelligent machines.
在一些会议和活动上，科技领域的高层和政界人士警告会有迫在眉睫的自动化危机—工人首先会逐渐被智能机器取代，然后会一次性全部被智能机器取代的事件。
looming 表示（问题或者困难）即将到来的。比如：
some economists see a looming collapse of the stock market.
Loom是动词形式，也是一个常用单词。
But their warnings mask the fact that an automation crisis has already arrived. The robots are here, they’re working in management, and they’re grinding workers into the ground.
但是他们的警告掩盖了一个事实，那就是自动化已经带来危机了。机器人已经到来，它们作为管理者，在狠狠地压榨着工人。
mask 作为名词，表示面罩，最近出现的频率很高。我们现在每天带的口罩就叫做face mask. 但是在文中它是作动词，表示遮盖，掩盖。
grind这个词也值得学习。剑桥高阶词典解释为：to make something into small pieces or a powder by pressing between hard surfaces 碾碎；把…磨成粉；比如我们平时说的磨咖啡豆就可以说grind coffee。
文章中的grind，没有用“研磨”这一层基础含义，而是取用的另一个意思：To oppress or weaken gradually:压榨
grind除了作动词，还有名词词性，第一可以表示“研磨”，除此之外，还经常用来表达“苦差事”这个含义。
有一个非常高频的短语：daily grind，表示“每天必须经历的苦差事”
来看两个例句：
It’s easy to get burned out by the daily grind.
很容易你就被日常单调的事情磨得筋疲力竭。
The daily grind of looking after three children was wearing her down.
每天照顾3个孩子，这个苦差事把她快累垮了。
补充一点，如果你特别喜欢自己的工作，就会达到一种“爱觉不累”的状态，这时就不能用daily grind来表示这份工作，而要用：labor of love（心甘情愿的工作）。
The robots are watching over hotel housekeepers telling them which room to clean and tracking how quickly they do it. They’re managing software developers, monitoring their clicks and scrolls and docking their pay if they work too slowly. They’re listening to call center workers, telling them what to say, how to say it, and keeping them constantly, maximally busy. While we’ve been watching the horizon for the self-driving trucks, perpetually five years away, the robots arrived in the form of the supervisor, the foreman, the middle manager.
第二段给出三个机器人充当管理者的行业。
The robots are watching over hotel housekeepers telling them which room to clean and tracking how quickly they do it.
机器人在监管酒店服务人员，告诉他们要打扫哪间房，监测他们速度。
watch over：有两层含义，可以指照顾，照料，也可以表示监管。
Track 既可以指追查，追踪（动物，人），还可以指监测，观测（业绩，表现）。比如：
I followed him, tracking him in the snow until finally he got tired. 我跟着他，在雪地里追踪他，直到他最终体力不支。
tracking the company’s performance daily.
追踪公司每天的业绩。
They’re managing software developers, monitoring their clicks and scrolls and docking their pay if they work too slowly.
他们管理软件开发人员，监测他们的工作, 如果工作太慢，就会扣他们工资。
Dock one’s pay 扣某人工资
They’re listening to call center workers, telling them what to say, how to say it, and keeping them constantly, maximally busy.
他们在监听电话服务中心的工人如何工作，告诉他们说什么内容，如何说，同时让他们不断忙碌着，最大限度地忙碌着。
keep sb constantly busy 让某人总是很忙；keep + 形容词：（让）~~保持某个状态
maximally: 副词， 最大限度地
While we’ve been watching the horizon for the self-driving trucks, perpetually five years away, the robots arrived in the form of the supervisor, the foreman, the middle manager.
当我们在关注自动驾驶汽车的前景时— 它们的推出一直在五年之后（这里是一个调侃的说法，各家开发自动汽车的公司总是在说五年之后会推出，但是五年复五年，一直没有兑现），机器人已经以主管，工头和中层管理者的身份到来了。
perpetually: In a way that never ends or changes; constantly总是，一直;永久地
给两个例子加深理解：
perpetually hungry teenage boys
She seems perpetually to have a mournful look on her face.
这一段中作者用了多种不同的说法来表示监管，值得学习。
四个近义词watch over；track; manage; monitor；还用了一个狭义词listen to call center workers, 用听这个更具体的动作来替代监管这个比较宽泛的词。
上下义词是写作中非常普遍的一种单词替换的手段，比如young people today enjoy playing video games ，我们可以将young people 替换为它的下义词teenagers。
These automated systems can detect inefficiencies that a human manager never would — a moment’s downtime between calls, a habit of lingering at the coffee machine after finishing a task, a new route that, if all goes perfectly, could get a few more packages delivered in a day. But for workers, what look like inefficiencies to an algorithm were their last reserves of respite and autonomy, and as these little breaks and minor freedoms get optimized out, their jobs are becoming more intense, stressful, and dangerous. Over the last several months, I’ve spoken with more than 20 workers in six countries.For many of them, their greatest fear isn’t that robots might come for their jobs: it’s that robots have already become their boss.
第三段阐述机器人如何让工作变得更糟糕。
These automated systems can detect inefficiencies that a human manager never would — a moment’s downtime between calls, a habit of lingering at the coffee machine after finishing a task, a new route that, if all goes perfectly, could get a few more packages delivered in a day.
这些自动化的系统可以察觉到人类管理者无法察觉到的低效的行为，比如两个通话之间的空闲，完成一项任务后在咖啡机旁逗留的习惯，一个新的路径— 如果运行良好，可以一天多配送几个包裹。
inefficiencies无效率之事；没有效率的行为、设计或程序
inefficient：形容词；“低效的”
efficient: 形容词；“高效的”
a moment’s downtime一刻闲暇时光
a habit of ~~: 表示“~~的习惯”；比如 a habit of getting up early 早起的习惯
还有几个关于habit的搭配要记住：
养成习惯 develop a habit; get into a habit
改掉习惯 get out of a habit ; break a habit; kick a habit
有做某事的习惯：be in the habit of doing sth
比如On Friday evenings, Carrie was in the habit of visiting her parents.
周五晚上卡丽习惯去看望父母。
还有一个俗语old habits die hard 积习难改
But for workers, what look like inefficiencies to an algorithm were their last reserves of respite and autonomy, and as these little breaks and minor freedoms get optimized out, their jobs are becoming more intense, stressful, and dangerous.
但是对工人来说，系统算法认定是低效的事情却是他们最后保留的喘息时间和人身自由。如果这些小的休息时间和自由都被优化取消了，他们的工作就会变得更加紧张，高压和危险。
respite 间歇；喘息时间
optimize：优化；完善
Over the last several months, I’ve spoken with more than 20 workers in six countries.For many of them, their greatest fear isn’t that robots might come for their jobs: it’s that robots have already become their boss.
在过去的几个月里，我和来自六个国家的超过20个员工交谈过。对他们来说，他们最害怕的不是机器人会抢走他们的工作，他们害怕的是机器人已经成为了他们的老板。
come for their jobs 抢走他们的工作；
come for sth 来抢夺~~~
come for sb (通常指军方、警察等为抓捕）上门找，带走（某人）
