國發會與ICRT共同製播的時事英語廣播“The World in Brief”固定於每周三在雙語資料庫學習資源網更新，與大家一起聽時事學英文。

本周主題：ChatGPT

ChatGPT為美國科技公司OpenAI所開發的人工智能聊天機器人(artificial intelligence chatbot)。新加坡國立大學(National University of Singapore)鼓勵學生們使用ChatGPT來幫助他們學習、進行學術研究等。想知道更多嗎？讓我們用３分鐘的時間一起來聽聽記者Max McGrath怎麼說吧！

 

【Transcript】

Nora: The biggest news …the best guests …the boldest events …This is ‘The World in Brief’ with Max McGrath.

Nora: With its detailed replies and clear, easy-to-follow answers, ‘ChatGPT’ has taken the world by storm! Roving reporter Max McGrath joins us live from Singapore, where the government has elected to embrace the brand new technology. Max?

Max: Thanks Nora. I’m at the National University of Singapore, here to find out how ChatGPT might impact the education of the country’s students. Aiden Tan joins me now. He studies philosophy here at the university’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Aiden, hi!

Aiden: Hello Max!

Max: Aiden … for old folks like me, could you give us a short summation of what ChatGPT actually is?

Aiden: Well, as a quick outline, it’s a super advanced AI chatbot.

Max: OK, I know what AI is. Artificial intelligence, right?

Aiden: Right.

Max: What’s a chatbot?

Aiden: It’s software designed to mimic human conversation.

Max: You mean, it copies the way people talk?

Aiden: Precisely. ChatGPT is maybe the best chatbot there’s ever been! Users give it a prompt, like a question or a subject. Then it scans the internet, finds all the information it can, and gives you short, easy answers.

Max: It can only answer questions?

Aiden: No, it can write things too. Like poems, movie scripts, fairy tales … even whole academic essays and news articles. It all depends on the prompt.

Max: It writes essays? That must be why universities are so worried …

Aiden: Some schools are panicking too. They think students will use it to cheat. Many universities have banned it already: in the USA, Hong Kong, France … anyone caught using it could fail their course, or even get kicked out!

Max: So, other institutions around the world are really worried about ChatGPT. So much so they’ll actually expel students for using it. But not here. Why?

Aiden: Well, just because people use ChatGPT it doesn’t mean they’re cheating! Yes, it can write whole essays for you. That is cheating, for sure! But students can also use it to help format their essays, or for research, or just to try out ideas! Our university knows that, we’re lucky here.

Max: They actually want people to use ChatGPT?

Aiden: Yeah! Even the government wants people to give it a go! The Ministry of Education here sends guidelines out to educators on how best to use AI for learning.

Max: Tell us, how does the government see it? What’s their perspective?

Aiden: There’s an Education Minister here called Chan Chun Sing. He compares ChatGPT to a calculator. When they were first invented anyone using a calculator would have been accused of cheating too. Today, everyone has one. Even the world’s top mathematicians.

Max: So they think ChatGPT is the same? It won’t prevent learning. In fact, used correctly, it’ll make it better.

Aiden: That’s right. AI is only scary right now because we don’t understand it. The world is changing so fast, and technology is evolving all the time. Either we keep up with it, or we risk getting left behind.

Max: Powerful stuff. Thank you Aiden. Good luck with the rest of your studies! This is Max McGrath reporting live from Singapore. Nora?

Nora: Thank you Max. And thank you too, other humans. Bye bye now.

 

【Vocabulary】

Embrace 擁抱；欣然接受(v.)

Universities in Singapore have embraced the use of ChatGPT by students, considering it necessary and beneficial to adapt to advances in technology.

 

Mimic 模仿(v.)

ChatGPT mimics human conversation so well that its responses can be difficult to distinguish from those of people.

 

Scan 瀏覽(v.)

Acting on a user prompt, an AI chatbot will scan the Internet to gather relevant information for its response.

 

Expel 開除(v.)

When students at some universities are caught using ChatGPT for an assignment, the penalties range from failing the course to being expelled.

 

Format 格式(n.)

School reports are often required to follow a certain format regarding font size and type, margins, line spacing, and more.

 

Guidelines 指導原則(n.)

Singapore has comprehensive plans to transform its society, economy, and government through technology, so its Ministry of Education issues official guidelines on how to effectively use AI for learning.

 

Ministry 部(n.)

Singapore's Ministry of Education issues official guidelines on how to effectively use AI for learning.

 

Perspective 觀點(n.)

Depending on one’s perspective, ChatGPT is a tool for opening new ways of learning and thinking or for enabling widespread cheating and plagiarism.

 

Evolve 進化(v.)

Technology has evolved in ways we couldn’t have imagined twenty years ago.