第114章 跟谷歌的AI聊天

What I learnt from talking to Google about chatbots

跟谷歌谈AI聊天，我了解到了什么？

By Gillian Tett

Those attending the World Economic Forum earlier this month had a plethora of solemn issues to discuss. But the topic creating a buzz over the dining tables was something else: ChatGPT， the artificial-intelligence platform recently launched by OpenAI.

本月初在世界经济论坛上，与会者们有许多严肃议题要讨论。但在餐桌上引发热议的却是另外一个话题：人工智能公司OpenAI近期推出的平台ChatGPT。

The fascination partly arises because its potent capabilities make it “a game-changer that society and industry need to be ready for“. But it also points to an intriguing question: could this so-called generative AI， which answers questions， undermine the dominance of the mighty Google Search platform? Is a Silicon Valley giant， infamous for disruption， about to be disrupted itself?

人们之所以为之着迷，有一部分原因是ChatGPT具有强大的功能，能够“颠覆游戏规则，整个社会及各行各业都必须为之做好准备”。但它也引出了一个有趣的问题：这种能回答问题的所谓生成式AI，是否会动摇强大的谷歌搜索平台所占据的主导地位？这个有着颠覆者“恶名”的硅谷巨头，自己是否即将被颠覆？

The Alphabet leadership claims the pany has developed AI platforms more powerful than ChatGPT but has decided it cannot release them until it has found a way to control the potential social and ethical risks.“Our aim is to be bold and responsible，“ says James Manyika， head of tech and society at Google.“We believe Google is very petitive in this space.“

谷歌母公司Alphabet的领导层声称，谷歌已经开发出比ChatGPT更为强大的人工智能平台。但是，在找到能够控制潜在的社会与伦理风险的方法之前，该公司决定暂时不予发布。谷歌技术与社会部门主管詹姆斯·马尼卡（James Manyika）表示：“我们的宗旨是既要大胆创新，又要有所担当。我们相信，谷歌在AI这个领域很有竞争力。”

Tech history is full of tales of “second mover“ panies that have emulated an innovation that was unleashed by somebody else， and then eclipsed the pioneer. However， some executives at Google's rivals– the likes of Microsoft and Amazon– offered another explanation: They suggest it's because Google Search is so dominant that staff have no incentive to scramble to develop a technology that might undercut its past success.

科技发展史上有很多“后发优势”的故事：模仿其他公司的创新理念，却后来居上，让先行者黯然失色。然而，微软、亚马逊等谷歌竞争对手公司的一些高管却给出了另一种解释：他们认为，也许是因为谷歌搜索的主导地位太过稳固，以至于其员工根本没有动力去研发新技术，更何况这种技术还可能会颠覆过往的成功。