人工智能究竟是敌是友？

When you’re asked to think about AI， what comes to mind？ Chances are that your idea of artificial intelligence will have roots in pop culture. Perhaps you will think of HAL or SKYNET， evil machines that’re set to overthrow or even kill humans. Maybe the concept of AI makes you think of friendlier characters， such as R2D2 and C3PO from Star Wars.

Popular culture has introduced many AI characters over the years. But how does the depiction of AI in pop culture impact the technology， as AI grows into more of a reality？

AI is new， unknown and unfamiliar， which can make it a threat. Therefore in pop culture， AI is often depicted as the villain. Perhaps the biggest fear about AI in pop culture is what happens when AI becomes self-aware. Both The Matrix and The Terminator franchises provide examples. In both works， artificial intelligence becomes malicious（恶意的） and destructive.

The depiction of AI as a villain creates an “us vs them” mentality when it comes to real-life robots. This hurts the development of AI， by damaging trust in the technology. On the other hand， these depictions of AI do highlight the public’s real concerns. It’s not bad to be wary of risks， and AI is unknown.

AI in pop culture isn’t all doom and gloom， either. R2D2 and C3PO， robot characters from Star Wars， are extremely well-known examples of friendly AI in pop culture. They serve both as assistants and also as friends to the human characters. These instances of AI in pop culture paint AI technology in a brighter light. They show the goal and potential of the technology.

Long before we had had even come close to realising artificial intelligence， pop culture started to shape public view of the technology. But these fictional works tend to provide an inaccurate depiction of AI technology—they give it desires and wants， making it almost the same as humans. Despite this， depicting AI in pop culture is a way to introduce the technology to the wider public， and explore the concerns and the hopes for this exciting technology.

（材料出自“ThinkAutomation”网站，有删改）

1. Why is pop culture mentioned in the first place？

A. Because pop culture offers many AI characters.

B. Because pop culture invented the concept of AI.

C. Because pop culture helps the public understand AI’s dangers.

D. Because pop culture forms most people’s understanding of AI.

2. Which of the following best explains “villain” underlined in Paragraph 3？

A. Bad guy.    B. Living being.

C. Superhero. D. Alien.

3. What do characters such as R2D2 mean for the development of AI？

A. To show the positive side of AI.

B. To address the public’s real concerns.

C. To warn the public that AI is unknown.

D. To provide an accurate depiction of AI.

4. What is the function of the last paragraph？

A. To introduce new topic.

B. To make comparison.

C. To summarize writer’s idea.

D. To provide argument.

1. D。解析：细节理解题。根据材料第一段的开头“When you’re asked to think about AI， what comes to mind？ Chances are that your idea of artificial intelligence will have roots in pop culture.”，我们可知人们对于人工智能的想法根深于流行文化。故选D。

2. A。解析：词义猜测题。根据材料第三段中的“Both The Matrix and The Terminator franchises provide examples. In both works， artificial intelligence becomes malicious and destructive.”，我们可知此段描述的人工智能都是坏角色。故选A。

3. A。解析：细节理解题。根据材料第五段中的“These instances of AI in pop culture paint AI technology in a brighter light. They show the goal and potential of the technology.”，我们可知这一段举的有关人工智能的例子为人工智能技术涂上了一层更明亮的色彩，展示了人工智能技术的目标和潜力，所以R2D2这样的角色展现了人工智能积极的一面。故选A。

4. C。解析：推理判断题。在材料的最后一段，作者表明了自己的观点态度，即尽管现在的一些科幻作品对人工智能的描述并不准确，将人工智能与人类对立起来，但正是这样的一些科幻作品才使得更多的人有机会了解到人工智能技术。故选C。