Google Sidelines Engineer Who Claims Its A.I. Is Sentient
谷歌工程师称其AI程序“有意识”，遭公司停职
By Nico Grant and Cade Metz
Google placed an engineer on paid leave recently after dismissing his claim that its artificial intelligence is sentient， surfacing yet another fracas about the company's most advanced technology.
最近，谷歌驳回了一名工程师关于该公司的人工智能存在感知能力的说法，并随后安排他带薪休假。这激起了围绕谷歌这项最前沿技术的又一场论战。
Blake Lemoine， a senior software engineer in Google's Responsible A.I. organization， said in an interview that he was put on leave Monday. The day before his suspension， Mr. Lemoine said， he handed over documents to a U.S. senator's office， claiming they provided evidence that Google and its technology engaged in religious discrimination.
布雷克·莱莫恩在谷歌旗下一个名为“负责任的AI技术”部门担任高级软件工程师。他在接受采访时称，自己被告知从本周一开始休假。莱莫恩表示，在被停职的前一天，他就把一些文件交到了一名美国参议员的办公室。他声称，这些文件提供了证据，表明谷歌及其技术涉嫌宗教歧视。
Google said that its systems imitated conversational exchanges and could riff on different topics， but did not have consciousness.
谷歌表示，公司的AI系统模仿人们的对话交流，可以针对不同话题侃侃而谈，但并不具有意识。
For months， Mr. Lemoine had tussled with Google managers， executives and human resources over his surprising claim that the company's Language Model for Dialogue Applications， or LaMDA， had consciousness and a soul.
莱莫恩称，谷歌的对话应用语言模型（简称LaMDA）有意识，有灵魂。几个月以来，围绕他这一令人惊讶的观点，莱莫恩一直与谷歌多位部门经理、高管、以及人力资源部门争执不休。
Mr. Lemoine， a military veteran who has described himself as a priest， an ex-convict and an A.I. researcher， told Google executives as senior as Kent Walker， the president of global affairs， that he believed LaMDA was a child of 7 or 8 years old. He wanted the company to seek the computer program's consent before running experiments on it.
莱莫恩是一名退伍军人，并称自己是一名牧师、前服刑人员，也是一名AI研究员。莱莫恩对谷歌的高管们，甚至是像全球事务总裁肯特·沃克这样的高管说，他认为LaMDA是一个七八岁的孩子。他希望公司在对其进行实验之前，征得这个计算机程序的同意。
Yann LeCun， the head of A.I. research at Meta and a key figure in the rise of neural networks， said in an interview this week that these types of systems are not powerful enough to attain true intelligence.
扬恩·莱坎是Meta人工智能研究的主管，也是神经网络崛起的关键人物。他在本周接受采访时表示，此类系统还没有强大到足以获得真正的智能。
生词好句
1.sideline
英[ˈsaɪdlaɪn]美[ˈsaɪdlaɪn]
v.（本文）遭到排挤；退出比赛
拓展:
He is sidelined because of injury.
他因为受伤而退出比赛。
2.sentient
英[ˈsentiənt;ˈsenʃənt]美[ˈsentiənt;ˈsenʃənt]
adj.有知觉力的（be able to perceive or feel）
3.dismiss
英[dɪsˈmɪs]美[dɪsˈmɪs]
v.（本文）不予理会；解雇
拓展:
He always dismisses other people's thoughts.
他从来不把别人的想法当回事。
4.surface
英[ˈsɜːfɪs]美[ˈsɜːrfɪs]
n.表面；v.显露，浮现出来
拓展:
Doubts are beginning to surface about the company's future development.
对于这家公司未来发展的疑虑，开始浮现出来。
5.suspension
英[səˈspenʃən]美[səˈspenʃən]
n.停职；暂停；停赛处罚（常用于体育运动中）
6.riff
英[rɪf]美[rɪf]
v.妙语连珠，侃侃而谈
7.tussle
英[ˈtʌsəl]美[ˈtʌsəl]
v.争辩，吵架
8.military veteran
退伍军人
9.ex-convict
英[，eks'kɔnvikt]美[，eks'kɔnvikt]
n.曾经被判刑的人
10.neural network
神经网络