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In Arthur C Clarke's short story The Nine Billion Names of God, a sect of monks in Tibet believes humanity has a divinely inspired purpose: inscribing all the various names of God.
在亚瑟·克拉克的短篇小说《神的九十亿个名字》中，一位西藏喇嘛认为人类有一个神圣的使命：铭刻上帝的所有不同名字。
Once the list was complete, they thought, he would bring the universe to an end.
一旦这个名单完成了，他们想，他就会把宇宙终结。
Having worked at it by hand for centuries, the monks decide to employ some modern technology.
几个世纪以来一直靠手工完成这项工作，喇嘛们决定采用一些现代技术。
Two sceptical engineers arrive in the Himalayas, powerful computers in tow.
两位持怀疑态度的工程师抵达喜马拉雅山，还带着强大的计算机。
Instead of 15,000 years to write out all the permutations of God's name, the job gets done in three months.
不是用15000年的时间来写出上帝名字的所有排列，这项工作在三个月内就完成了。
As the engineers ride ponies down the mountainside, Clarke's tale ends with one of literature's most economical final lines: “Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out.”
当工程师们骑着小马下山时，克拉克的故事以文学作品中最简洁的结尾之一结束：“头顶上，星星悄无声息地熄灭了。”
It is an image of the computer as a shortcut to objectivity or ultimate meaning – which also happens to be, at least part of, what now animates the fascination with artificial intelligence.
这是一种将计算机视为通向客观性或终极意义的捷径的形象——这也恰好是，至少部分是，现在激发人们对人工智能着迷的原因。
Though the technologies that underpin AI have existed for some time, it's only since late 2022, with the emergence of OpenAI's ChatGPT, that the technology that approached intelligence appeared to be much closer.
虽然支撑人工智能的技术已经存在了一段时间，但直到2022年底，随着OpenAI公司的ChatGPT的出现，接近智能的技术似乎才更接近了。
In a 2023 report by Microsoft Canada, president Chris Barry proclaimed that “the era of AI is here, ushering in a transformative wave with potential to touch every facet of our lives”, and that “it is not just a technological advancement; it is a societal shift”.
在微软加拿大公司2023年的一份报告中，总裁克里斯·巴里宣称：“人工智能时代已经到来，它带来了变革的浪潮，有可能触及我们生活的方方面面”，并且“这不仅仅是一项技术进步；这是一种社会变革”。
That is among the more level-headed reactions.
这属于比较冷静的反应。
Artists and writers are panicking that they will be made obsolete, governments are scrambling to catch up and regulate, and academics are debating furiously.
艺术家和作家们惶恐自己将被淘汰，政府正手忙脚乱地追赶并进行监管，学者们也在激烈地辩论。
Businesses have been eager to rush aboard the hype train.
企业一直渴望搭上炒作的列车。
Some of the world's largest companies, including Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet, are throwing their full weight behind AI.
一些世界上最大的公司，包括微软、Meta和Alphabet，正在全力支持人工智能。
On top of the billions spent by big tech, funding for AI startups hit nearly $50bn in 2023.
除了大型科技公司花费的数十亿美元之外，2023年人工智能初创公司的资金达到了近500亿美元。
At an event at Stanford University in April, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he didn't really care if the company spent $50bn a year on AI.
在4月斯坦福大学的一次活动中，OpenAI的首席执行官山姆·奥特曼表示，他并不真正关心公司每年在人工智能上花费500亿美元。
Part of his vision is for a kind of super-assistant, one that would be a “super-competent colleague that knows absolutely everything about my whole life, every email, every conversation I've ever had, but doesn't feel like an extension”.
他的部分愿景是打造一种超级助手，它将是一个“超级能干的同事，对我的整个生活、每封电子邮件、我曾经进行过的每一次对话都了如指掌，但又不会让人觉得是一种延伸”。
