Way back in 1968, the Stanley Kubrick film “2001: A Space Odyssey” featured a main character that was a forerunner, in a sense, of today's digital assistants.
從某種意義來(lái)說(shuō)，早在1968年，斯坦利?庫(kù)布里克的電影《2001太空漫游》中的主角之一就是當(dāng)代數(shù)字助手的前身。

The HAL 9000, a supercomputer endowed with artificial intelligence, ran a space ship and interacted with astronauts using a soft, calm voice and an unblinking red lens for an eye. HAL -- short for heuristically programmed algorithmic computer – was the creation of novelist Arthur C. Clarke.
小說(shuō)家亞瑟?C?克拉克創(chuàng)作的哈爾9000（HAL是啟發(fā)式編程算法計(jì)算機(jī)的縮寫(xiě)）是一臺(tái)超級(jí)計(jì)算機(jī)，它配備人工智能技術(shù)，駕駛一艘太空飛船，用溫柔平靜的聲音和像一只一眨也不眨的眼睛一樣的紅色鏡頭與宇航員交流。

Today's digital assistants, of course, can be customized with a variety of voices and taught to turn things on or off in the home or play a favorite song.
當(dāng)然，如今的數(shù)字助手可以定制不同聲音，學(xué)習(xí)開(kāi)關(guān)家里的設(shè)備，或者播放人們喜歡的歌曲。

According to a report on the website DigitalMarket.Asia, China’s consumers are leading the way in using voice assistants
據(jù)亞洲數(shù)字市場(chǎng)網(wǎng)報(bào)道，在使用語(yǔ)音助手方面，中國(guó)消費(fèi)者處于領(lǐng)先地位。

Citing the study Speak Easy, jointly created by the J. Walter Thompson Innovation Group and Mindshare Futures, the report said the use of voice controls by Chinese for most activities was higher than the global average, “reflecting the strong appetite for voice technology in China”.
該報(bào)告援引湯普森創(chuàng)新集團(tuán)和Mindshare Futures聯(lián)合進(jìn)行的研究“Speak Easy”稱，在大多數(shù)活動(dòng)中，中國(guó)人使用語(yǔ)音控制的次數(shù)高于全球平均水平，“這反映出中國(guó)對(duì)語(yǔ)音技術(shù)的強(qiáng)大熱情”。

It said that finding out product information and searching online had the highest usage, “which is driven by the busy and fast-paced lifestyles of Chinese consumers.”
該報(bào)告提到，在查找產(chǎn)品信息和在線搜索時(shí)使用語(yǔ)音助手的頻率最高，“這是因?yàn)橹袊?guó)消費(fèi)者處于繁忙快節(jié)奏的生活方式中。”

But considering that my high-tech life doesn’t go much beyond a smart phone and an e-reader, I was amazed at a recent New York Times report describing what voice products from companies like Amazon and Google can do.
但由于我生活中的高科技基本僅限于智能手機(jī)和電子閱讀器，所以當(dāng)我看到《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》最近一篇報(bào)道介紹了亞馬遜、谷歌等公司的語(yǔ)音產(chǎn)品功能后，我感到非常驚訝。

You can have these devices read you the day’s top news. You can add to your shopping list, and by downloading an app, it will remind you of what you need when you’re close to the store.
這些產(chǎn)品可以為你朗讀當(dāng)天的頭條新聞。你可以下載一個(gè)應(yīng)用程序并添加購(gòu)物清單，當(dāng)你走到商店附近時(shí)，它便會(huì)提醒你購(gòu)買(mǎi)所需的物品。

More and more people have multiple devices, and it’s no wonder: You can use them like a linked intercom to call the kids to supper.
越來(lái)越多的人擁有多個(gè)產(chǎn)品，你可以把它們當(dāng)對(duì)講機(jī)，招呼孩子們吃晚飯，這也不足為奇。

Feel like relaxing? They can walk you through a guided meditation. If you want to hear an uplifting story, say “tell me something good”. If you want to have a natural conversation, set the device so that you don’t have to start every sentence with your digital assistant’s name.
想放松一下嗎？這些產(chǎn)品可以指導(dǎo)你進(jìn)行冥想；如果你想聽(tīng)一個(gè)開(kāi)心的故事，只用對(duì)它們說(shuō)一句“給我講點(diǎn)高興的事兒”；如果你想隨便聊聊天，你可以進(jìn)行設(shè)置，這樣你就不必每講一句話前都要叫一聲你的數(shù)字助手的名字。

OK, admittedly, all this sounds pretty cool. The Speak Easy report even found that 43 percent of smartphone users “think voice technology will free us up from our dependency on the mobile to allow us to interact more with the world around us”.
是的，無(wú)可否認(rèn)，所有這些聽(tīng)起來(lái)都棒極了。Speak Easy報(bào)告甚至發(fā)現(xiàn)，43%的智能手機(jī)用戶“認(rèn)為語(yǔ)音技術(shù)將使我們擺脫對(duì)手機(jī)的依賴，讓我們有更多機(jī)會(huì)與周?chē)氖澜邕M(jìn)行互動(dòng)”。

That is, people won’t have their noses glued to their phones as much, at least theoretically.
也就是說(shuō)，至少在理論上，人們不會(huì)一直盯著手機(jī)屏幕了。

But I submit that there is another side to all this. For one, there is the risk of falling in love with a disembodied voice.
但我認(rèn)為事情還有另外一面。比如，你可能會(huì)愛(ài)上一個(gè)虛擬的聲音。

“Almost half (43 percent) of regular voice technology users globally say that they love their voice assistant so much that they wish it were a real person,” DigitalMarket.Asia reported, citing the study. “This is particularly true in the markets enthusiastically embracing voice, such as China (65 percent) and Thailand (61 percent).”
亞洲數(shù)字市場(chǎng)網(wǎng)援引Speak Easy報(bào)告稱：“全球近一半(43%)經(jīng)常使用語(yǔ)音助手的用戶表示，他們非常喜歡語(yǔ)音助手，甚至希望它是一個(gè)真人。在語(yǔ)音助手大受歡迎的市場(chǎng)，比如中國(guó)(65%)和泰國(guó)(61%)，這種情況尤其明顯?！?/p>

Another trend from the study’s summary is that consumers express the desire to give up control to their intangible companion. “Voice assistants will start to take on a more prominent role, managing consumers’ lives proactively, making decisions independently, and (they) will essentially evolve into ‘digital butlers’.”
該研究總結(jié)的另一個(gè)趨勢(shì)是，消費(fèi)者表示愿意放棄對(duì)虛擬語(yǔ)音助手的控制?！罢Z(yǔ)音助手將扮演更重要的角色，主動(dòng)管理消費(fèi)者的生活，獨(dú)立做出決定，它們將從本質(zhì)上轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)椤當(dāng)?shù)字管家’?！?/p>

That reminds me of how things went with the HAL.
這讓我想起了哈爾的故事。

In the film, when astronauts David Bowman and Frank Poole whisper to each other that they may disconnect HAL because it (or is it “he”?) appears to be malfunctioning, HAL reads their lips and decides to disconnect them.
在電影《2001太空漫游》中，當(dāng)宇航員大衛(wèi)?鮑曼和弗蘭克?普爾小聲說(shuō)，他們可能會(huì)切斷哈爾的連接，因?yàn)樗?或者是“他”？)似乎出現(xiàn)了故障，哈爾讀懂了他們的唇語(yǔ)，并決定對(duì)他們下手。

At one point, HAL has locked Bowman in a pod and is threatening to cut off his air supply. Bowman demands he open the door.
在某一刻，哈爾把鮑曼鎖在一個(gè)太空艙里，并威脅要切斷他的空氣供應(yīng)。鮑曼命令他把門(mén)打開(kāi)。

That’s when HAL, in his calm, polite voice, produces one of the creepiest expressions ever heard in a science fiction film: “I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.”
就在這時(shí)，哈爾平靜有禮地說(shuō)了句:“對(duì)不起，大衛(wèi)?？峙挛易霾坏??！边@是科幻電影中最恐怖的臺(tái)詞之一了。

編審：董靜 丹妮
音頻編輯：焦?jié)?br>來(lái)源：CHINA DAILY 微信公眾號(hào)：

About the author & broadcaster

Matt Prichard is a copy editor and writer who works on the front page team of China Daily. He has lived in China for more than four years, in Shanghai and Beijing. Before that, he had a 30-year career as a reporter and editor in the United States and Latin America. He has an ABJ from the University of Georgia and did postgraduate work at the Universidad Nacional del Sur in Argentina. He speaks Spanish fluently and is still learning Mandarin.
Contact the writer at mattprichard@chinadaily.com.cn