Do you think robots could ever become intelligent, Sam?
你认为机器人会变得聪明吗，山姆？
Sam(山姆)
Well, if you believe Hollywood movies like ‘Robocop’, robots will grow more powerful than their human creators and take control.
好吧，如果你相信像《机械战警》这样的好莱坞电影，机器人会变得比人类创造者更强大并控制。
Neil(尼尔)
You’ve been watching too many sci-fi movies, Sam! But seriously - do you think robots will ever be able to think or dream? Could they fall in love or create art?
你看了太多科幻电影了，山姆！但说真的，你认为机器人能够思考或做梦吗？他们能坠入爱河还是创造艺术？
Sam(山姆)
It’s hard to say but because of the huge advances in artificial intelligence over the last ten years, questions like these are being asked more and more.
这很难说，但由于过去十年人工智能的巨大进步，像这样的问题被问到的越来越多。
Neil(尼尔)
In this programme we’ll be meeting a very unusual ‘person’ (if that’s the right word) who could help answer some of these questions. She’s called Ai-Da, she’s an artist who can draw, paint and create sculptures – and she’s a robot.
Yes, the humanoid robot, Ai-Da, uses a robotic arm and a pencil to draw what it sees with a camera in its eye. It’s very life-like and can even talk to the people whose picture it’s drawing.
We’ll hear more about this extraordinary robot and the team of inventors behind her soon, but first I have a quiz question. The name, Ai-Da, uses the abbreviation for ‘artificial intelligence’ - AI - to make a woman’s first name, but which famous, real-life Ada was the robot named after? Was it: a) Ada Brown?; b) Ada Lovelace? or, c) Ada Maris?
我们很快就会听到更多关于这个非凡的机器人和她背后的发明家团队的信息，但首先我有一个测验问题。Ai-Da这个名字使用“人工智能”的缩写 —— AI —— 来取一个女人的名字，但这个机器人是以哪个著名的、现实生活中的Ada命名的呢？是：a）艾达·布朗 艾达·马里斯？
Sam(山姆)
I think it must be, b) Ada Lovelace.
我想一定是，b）艾达·洛夫莱斯。
Neil(尼尔)
OK, Sam, we’ll find out if that’s right later. Of course building a realistic robot that can see, hold a pencil and draw is not easy.
好的，山姆，我们稍后会知道这是否正确。当然，建造一个能够看、拿铅笔和画画的逼真机器人并不容易。
Sam(山姆)
Behind the creation of Ai-Da was a team led by Cornish robotics company, Engineered Arts, and supported by engineers in Leeds who built her robotic arms using AI systems developed at Oxford University.
Here’s chief engineer, Marcus Hold, introducing presenter, Karl Bos, to the still unfinished Ai -Da for the first time for BBC World Service programme, In The Studio:
这是总工程师马库斯·霍尔德在BBC世界服务节目《In The Studio》中首次向主持人卡尔·博斯介绍尚未完成的Ai -Da：
Karl Bos(卡尔·博斯)
It’s very strange because on first glance she looks incredibly scary, a bit like a dystopian robot from the future but when you see her move and express she becomes incredibly cute.
People tend to refer to them as ‘he’ or ‘she’, they’re drawn to the robots. So much of our communication is non-verbal – I’m gesturing with my arms, I’m smiling… and our robots – a big part of their appeal and their human nature is in the way they behave and move and it’s great that you’re picking up on that from something that has no skin.
When Karl first meets Ai-Da he sees a wired-up metal skull without skin. She looks like a robot from a dystopia - an imaginary future world where everything is bad – like the movie ‘Robocop’.
But as Karl spends more time with Ai-Da he begins to see her move and express herself. She smiles, blinks and uses facial expressions and hand gestures known as non-verbal communication to appear more human.
This human-like behaviour is part of Ai-Da’s appeal - the quality in someone that makes them attractive and interesting – and soon Karl is calling the robot ‘she’ instead of ‘it’.
Former art gallery owner, Aidan Mellor, manages the Ai-Da project. Here he is speaking to BBC World Service’s, In The Studio, about the complex process involved in building a working robot:
前艺术画廊老板艾丹·梅勒负责管理Ai-Da项目。在这里，他正在与BBC世界服务部的In The Studio谈论构建工作机器人所涉及的复杂过程：
Aidan Meller(艾丹·梅勒)
We’ve got the programmers and researchers working at Oxford University and Goldsmiths and they’re doing their algorithmic programming, programming the AI that is going to be eventually used for the art pieces that we’re doing… But we’ve also got a couple of guys who are actually working on her arm – her ability to draw – and actually getting her to do a compelling drawing of what she sees. There’s some battles still to be won before the show, we will eventually hopefully iron out all the issues before that time.
One challenge the team faced was building a robotic arm that could allow Ai-Da to draw pictures that were compelling – exciting, interesting and able to keep your attention.
In combining an electronic AI brain with mechanical robot eyes and arms there were many battles to be won – difficulties and technical obstacles to be overcome.
And at the time of the interview, the team still had some issues to iron out – removing problems by finding solutions – before Ai-Da’s opening show: an exhibition of her artwork at The Design Museum in London.
Non-verbal communication is communication using physical gestures and facial expressions instead of speech.
非语言交流是使用身体手势和面部表情而不是言语进行交流。
Sam(山姆)
The appeal of something is a quality it has which people find attractive.
某物的吸引力是它所具有的一种品质，人们觉得它很有吸引力。
Neil(尼尔)
If something is compelling, it holds your attention because you find it so interesting.
如果某件事很吸引人，它就会吸引你的注意力，因为你觉得它很有趣。
Sam(山姆)
A battle to be won means a problem to be solved or an obstacle to overcome.
要打赢的仗，就是要解决的问题，要克服的障碍。
Neil(尼尔)
And finally, to iron something out means to remove or find solutions to a problem.
最后，解决问题意味着消除或找到问题的解决方案。
Sam(山姆)
With artificial intelligence improving so fast it may not be too long before we see robot presenters of Six Minute English!
随着人工智能的快速发展，我们可能很快就会看到六分钟英语的机器人演示者！
Neil(尼尔)
But until Sam and I are replaced by AI we hope you’ll join us again next time for more trending topics and useful vocabulary, here at BBC Learning English. Bye for now!
但是，在 Sam 和我被 AI 取代之前，我们希望您下次能再次加入我们，了解更多热门话题和有用的词汇，这里是 BBC Learning English。再见！
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