Artificial Intelligence (AI)

1960s—1970s	1980s—1990s	2000s—2010s	Now
The first industrial robot started working in a car factory. Another robot called “Shakey” could move and follow basic instructions.	WABOT-2 could communicate with a person, read music and play an instrument. Deep Blue became the first computer to beat a world champion (冠军) chess player. Computers were able to do translations by learning languages on the Internet.	A driverless car was able to pass a driving test in the USA. ASIMO was the first robot that could walk as fast as a human in 2000. It served food in a restaurant.	Virtual assistants (虚拟助手) on phones and at homes are able to understand human speech and to learn people’s habits and preferences. Computers can now score higher marks than humans in reading tests.

Everyone looks forward to progress, whether in one’s personal life or in the society. Progress shows a person’s ability to change the way he is living at the moment. Progress must lead to a better way of doing things. All these, however, remain true only if people choose to accept technology and find new and more efficient (高效的) ways to move forward.

However, at the back of the minds of many people, especially those who missed the “good old days”, efficiency comes with a price. When communication becomes efficient, people are able to contact one another no matter where they are and whenever they wish to. The click of a button allows people miles apart to talk or to see each other without even leaving their homes. With the communication tools, such as mobile phones and iPads, people often do not take the effort to visit one another personally. A personal visit carries with its additional feature of having to be in the person’s presence for as long as the visit lasts.

With efficiency also comes mass production (大规模生产). Such is the nature of factories and the success of industrialization today. Factories have improved efficiency. Unskillful tasks are left to machines and products are better made and produced with greater accuracy (精确) than any human hand. However, with the improvements in efficiency also comes the loss of the personal touch when making these products. For example, many handicrafts (手工艺品) are now produced in a factory. Although this means that supply is better able to increase demand, now that the supply is quick and efficient, the demand might fall because mass production lowers the quality of the handicraft and it is difficult to find unique designs on each item.

Nevertheless, we must not make the mistake of analyzing progress only from one point of view. In fact, progress has allowed tradition to keep up. It is only with progress and the invention of new technology that many old products can be brought back to their old state. New technology is required for old products to stay old.

It is people’s attitude towards progress that causes the type of influence that technology has on society. Technology is flexible. There is no fixed way of making use of it. Everything depends on people’s attitude. The worst effects of progress will fall on those who are unable to think again about their attitudes and views of society. When we accept progress and adapt it to suit our needs, a new “past” is created.