[originaltext]W: Good evening, everybody. Automation, driven by technological p

W: Good evening, everybody. Automation, driven by technological progress, has been increasing inexorably for the past several decades. [6] Two schools of economic thinking have for many years been engaged in a debate about the potential effects of automation on jobs, employment and human activity: Will new technology spawn mass unemployment as the robots take jobs away from humans? Or will the jobs robots take over release or unveil—or even create—demand for new human jobs? Today, we invite Mr. Brown, a prominent sociologist from University of Reading to share his view on artificial intelligence or AI. Thank you for joining us, Mr. Brown.
M: Thank you, Lucy.
W: When people think of artificial intelligence (AI)—the study of the design of intelligent systems and machines—talking computers like Eugene Goostman often come to mind. What else can be classified into this category?
M: Well, most AI researchers are focused less on producing clever conversationalists and more on developing intelligent systems that make people’s lives easier—from software that can recognize objects and animals, to digital assistants that cater to, and even anticipate, their owners’ needs and desires.
W: I see. [7] But several prominent thinkers, including the famed physicist Stephen Hawking and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, warn that the development of AI should be cause for concern. [8] The debate has flared up again recently because of technological achievements such as deep learning, which recently enabled a Google software program called AlphaGo to beat Go world champion Lee Sedol, a task considered even harder than beating the world’s chess champions.
M: Yes. That is quite shocking and the question boils down to this: Are today’s modern technological innovations like those of the past, which made obsolete the job of buggy maker but created the job of automobile manufacturer? Or is there something about today that is markedly different?
W: I once read a book written by Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point, which highlighted what he called "that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire". Can we really be confident that we are not approaching a tipping point, a phase transition— that we are not mistaking the trend of technology both destroying and creating jobs for a law that it will always continue this way?
M: This is not a new concern. Since at least as early as the time of the Luddites, in early 19th-century Britain, new technologies have caused fear about the inevitable changes they bring. [9] It may seem easy to dismiss today’s concerns as unfounded in reality.
W: What do you mean by " unfounded" ?
M: Let’s ponder this question: Is automation, driven by progress in technology, in general, and artificial intelligence and robotics, in particular, the main cause for the economic decline of working Americans?
W: It is hard to say.
M: In economics, it is easier to agree on the data than to agree on causality. Many other factors can be in play, such as globalization, deregulation, the decline of unions and the like. In a 2014 poll of leading academic economists conducted by the Chicago Initiative on Global Markets, regarding the impact of technology on employment and earnings, only 33% of those polled agreed with the statement that " information technology and automation are a central reason why median wages have been stagnant in the U.S. over the decade, despite rising productivity" , while 58% disagreed. [10] Similarly, a 2015 study by the International Monetary Fund concluded that technological progress is a minor factor in the increase of inequality over the past decades.
W: So we can conclude that there is no sign that the introduction of technologies in recent years is threatening mankind’s employment in the near future. Thank you for sharing your view with us.
   6. As to artificial intelligence, what do the two schools of economic thinking argue about?
   7. According to this interview, what is Stephen Hawking’s attitude towards artificial intelligence?
   8. According to this interview, why does the debate over AI get heated recently?
   9. How does the man define people’s accusation of AI?
   10. What does the 2015 study tell us?