AI, Hallucinate, Authentic or Rizz for Word of the Year

AI, Hallucinate, Authentic or Rizz for Word of the Year

人工智能、幻觉、真实或Rizz作为年度词汇

【原文听力】

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　　By Hai Do

　　09 December 2023

　　As the year 2023 comes to a close, English language dictionary publishers are announcing their choices for word of the year. The words usually come from popular usage, news events, or things that are on people's minds.

　　AI

　　Collins, a British publisher, has named "AI" as its word of the year for 2023. AI, short for artificial intelligence, is a term that describes "the modeling of human mental functions by computer programs."

　　AI is increasingly becoming a part of everyday life. Just this year, the Beatles released a song with help from AI. The American toy company Mattel now uses AI to design new toy cars. A Kuwaiti news organization used AI to create "Fedha", a female presenter to read the news. AI has also been used to identify an asteroid that could one day present a threat to Earth.

　　One of the best-known AI programs is ChatGPT. The program can have a discussion with people, write books, and create images. The program learns from a large database of books, online materials, and other media.

　　It can produce human-like writing. But, sometimes, its writings are not correct or do not make sense. When artificial intelligence produces such information, people say that the program has "hallucinated."

　　Hallucinate

　　The British dictionary publisher Cambridge chose "hallucinate" as its word of the year. It says the word "gets to the heart of why people are talking about AI."

　　To "hallucinate" means to seem to see, hear, feel, or smell something that does not exist. But when used in connection to AI, it means to produce false information.

　　Cambridge says, "generative AI is a powerful tool but one that we're all still learning how to interact with safely and effectively." The publisher adds that "AI hallucinations remind us that humans still need to bring their critical thinking skills to use these tools."

　　Authentic

　　The American publisher Merriam-Webster chose "authentic" as its word of the year.

　　Merriam-Webster says it has seen a major rise in searches for "authentic" in 2023. The publisher says the searches are driven by "stories and conversations about AI, celebrity culture, identity, and social media."

　　Authentic has several meanings, including "not false," "true to one's own personality" and "made or done the same way as an original."

　　With the rise of artificial intelligence, Merriam-Webster says the line between "real" and "fake" has become increasingly unclear.

　　Other words Merriam-Webster considered include "deepfake," "coronation," "indict" and "rizz."

　　Rizz

　　The editors of the Oxford dictionary left the selection for Word of the Year to language lovers.

　　Over 30,000 people voted and selected four finalists for word of the year. They were "Swiftie" (fans of Taylor Swift), "situationship" (an informal romantic or sexual relationship), "prompt" (an instruction given to an artificial intelligence program), and "rizz."

　　If you are not familiar with "rizz," it is time to learn its meaning. It is Oxford's word of the year. "Rizz" is believed to come from the word "charisma." Oxford says it means having "style, charm or attractiveness." It can also mean the "ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner." The word is popular among Generation Z -- people born during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

　　"Rizz" can be used as a verb, too. To "rizz up" means "to attract, seduce, or chat up (a person)."

　　Oxford editors said they chose "rizz" as "an interesting example of how language can be formed, shaped, and shared within communities, before being picked up more widely in society."

　　I'm Anna Matteo.

　　Hai Do wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者：Hai Do

　　日期：2023年12月9日

　　随着2023年的结束，英语词典出版商们正在公布他们选择的年度词汇。这些词汇通常来源于流行用语、新闻事件或者人们关注的事物。

　　AI

　　英国出版商Collins将“AI”命名为2023年的年度词汇。AI，即人工智能的简称，是一个描述“通过计算机程序模拟人类心智功能”的术语。

　　AI正在越来越多地成为日常生活的一部分。就在今年，披头士乐队在AI的帮助下发布了一首歌曲。美国玩具公司Mattel现在使用AI来设计新的玩具车。科威特的一家新闻机构使用AI创建了“Fedha”，一个女性新闻主播。AI还被用来识别可能有朝一日对地球构成威胁的小行星。

　　最知名的AI程序之一是ChatGPT。这个程序可以与人进行对话，写书，创造图像。该程序从大量的书籍、在线材料和其他媒体中学习。

　　它可以产生类似人类的写作。但是，有时，它的写作并不正确或者没有意义。当人工智能产生这样的信息时，人们会说程序“产生了幻觉”。

　　幻觉

　　英国词典出版商剑桥选择了“幻觉”作为其年度词汇。它表示这个词“触及了人们为何会谈论AI的核心”。

　　“幻觉”意味着似乎看到、听到、感觉到或闻到了并不存在的东西。但是当与AI联系在一起时，它意味着产生了错误的信息。

　　剑桥表示，“生成性AI是一种强大的工具，但我们所有人仍在学习如何安全有效地与之互动。”出版商补充说，“AI的幻觉提醒我们，人类仍需要运用他们的批判性思维技能来使用这些工具。”

　　真实

　　美国出版商韦氏词典选择了“真实”作为其年度词汇。

　　韦氏词典表示，2023年对“真实”一词的搜索量大幅上升。出版商表示，这些搜索是由“关于AI、名人文化、身份和社交媒体的故事和对话”驱动的。

　　“真实”有几个含义，包括“非虚假的”、“忠于自我个性的”和“按照原样制作或完成的”。

　　随着人工智能的崛起，韦氏词典表示，“真实”和“假冒”的界限变得越来越模糊。

　　韦氏词典考虑的其他词汇包括“深度伪造”、“加冕”、“起诉”和“rizz”。

　　Rizz

　　牛津词典的编辑将年度词汇的选择权交给了语言爱好者。

　　超过30,000人投票并选出了年度词汇的四个决赛词。它们是“Swiftie”（泰勒·斯威夫特的粉丝），“situationship”（非正式的浪漫或性关系），“prompt”（给人工智能程序的指令），和“rizz”。

　　如果你对“rizz”不熟悉，那么现在是时候学习它的含义了。它是牛津的年度词汇。“Rizz”被认为来自于单词“charisma”。牛津表示它意味着具有“风格、魅力或吸引力”。它也可以表示“吸引浪漫或性伴侣的能力”。这个词在Z世代（在1990年代末和2000年代初出生的人）中很流行。

　　“Rizz”也可以作为动词使用。"Rizz up"意味着“吸引、诱惑或搭讪（某人）”。

　　牛津的编辑们表示，他们选择“rizz”是因为它是“语言如何在社区内形成、塑造和分享，然后在社会中被更广泛接受的有趣例子”。

　　我是Anna Matteo。

　　Hai Do为VOA学英语编写了这个课程。

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　　本故事中的词汇

　　asteroid – n. 小行星，特指在火星和木星轨道之间发现的小型岩石天体

　　celebrity – n. 名人，知名人士

　　original – adj. 原始的，起源的

　　coronation – n. 登基，就任最高职位

　　indict – v.以法定形式由陪审团（如大陪审团）提出或发现罪行，对...起诉

　　seduce – v.诱导做错事：劝诱进行性行为