Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Phil.
您好。这里是BBC六分钟英语。我是菲尔。
And I'm Pippa. Have you ever phoned up a company and had your call held in a queue? If you have, then you've probably heard messages like this:
我是皮帕。您是否曾给某家公司打电话,然后您的电话被搁置在队列中?如果有,那么您可能听过这样的消息:
Hello. Your call is important to us. You are number 89 in the queue. If you'd like to continue to hold, press 1. If you'd like to return to the main menu, press 0.
您好。您的电话对我们很重要。您在队列中排在第89位。如果您想继续等待,请按1。如果您想返回主菜单,请按0。
How do you feel when your phone call is put on hold, Phil? Oh, frustrated usually, although I do like it when there's a number saying how many people are in front of you. That's good.
当您的电话被搁置时,您有何感受,菲尔?通常很沮丧,不过我确实喜欢看到一个数字显示前面有多少人。这很好。
Well, when your call is finally connected, it's usually a call centre worker you'll speak to – a real live person who'll hopefully fix your problem.
当您的电话终于接通时,通常会与呼叫中心的工作人员通话——一个真人,希望他能解决您的问题。
But increasingly, this work is now done using artificial intelligence, or AI. And this is causing problems in countries like India and the Philippines, where call centre jobs make up a big part of the economy.
但现在越来越多地使用人工智能(AI)来完成这项工作。这给印度和菲律宾等国家带来了问题,因为呼叫中心的工作占经济的很大一部分。
In this programme, we'll be asking who's really in charge at the call centre: humans or AI? As always, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary.
在本期节目中,我们将问谁才是呼叫中心的真正负责人:人类还是人工智能?与往常一样,我们将学习一些有用的新词汇。
And remember you can read along with the programme, and find the list of new words and phrases, by visiting our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
请记住,您可以边看边读节目,并通过访问我们的网站bbclearningenglish.com找到新单词和短语列表。
But now I have a question for you, Phil. Around the world, numbers of call centre workers have grown rapidly in recent years.
但现在我有一个问题要问你,菲尔。近年来,全球呼叫中心工作人员的数量迅速增长。
If you're listening to this, maybe you're a call centre worker yourself. So, approximately how many people work in call centres globally, Phil?
如果您正在听这个,也许您自己就是呼叫中心工作人员。那么,菲尔,全球大约有多少人在呼叫中心工作?
Is it: a) 7 million? b) 17 million? or, c) 27 million? I think b) 17 million. OK, well you'll have to listen to the end to find out the answer.
是:a)700万?b)1700万?还是c)2700万?我认为是b)1700万。好吧,您必须听完才能找到答案。
Now, one worker worried about the impact of AI on jobs in the Philippines is Mylene Cabalona, president of the call centre workers' union, B.I.E.N.
现在,有一位工人担心人工智能对菲律宾就业的影响,她就是呼叫中心工会B.I.E.N.的主席Mylene Cabalona。
Here, she tells BBC World Service programme, 'Tech Life', about some of the difficulties of her job, and why she fears for the future:
她向BBC世界服务节目“科技生活”讲述了她工作中的一些困难,以及她对未来的担忧:
So, and this person is quite already aggravated, and he keeps on yelling and that's the, you know, that's the difficult part because the mental stress also… you know,
这个人已经相当恼火了,他不停地大喊大叫,这就是最困难的部分,因为精神压力也……
you have to pacify the client, and you have to make sure you're able to resolve the concern. And then the difficult part on that conversation is that you're being monitored by an AI.
你必须安抚客户,你必须确保你能够解决问题。然后,那次谈话的困难部分是你被人工智能监视着。
I mean, eventually AI would replace… us. It's going to displace workers… you know, eventually, in the near future.
人工智能最终会取代……我们。它将取代员工……最终,在不久的将来。
Even, as a matter of fact, there's been a study that says that about 300,000 workers or around 27% of workers that's going to be displaced because of AI, and that's slowly happening.
事实上,甚至有一项研究表明,大约30万名员工或约27%的员工将因人工智能而失业,而且这种情况正在慢慢发生。
Call centre work involves dealing with customers who've phoned up to complain. They're often angry, aggravated and yelling, or shouting, down the phone. It's Mylene's job to pacify them, to calm them down.
呼叫中心的工作涉及应对打电话投诉的客户。他们经常生气、烦躁,在电话里大喊大叫。安抚他们、让他们平静下来是Mylene的工作。
If that wasn't stressful enough, Mylene's conversations are monitored by AI systems to see how well she fixes her clients' problems.
如果这还不够紧张的话,Mylene的对话会受到人工智能系统的监控,以了解她解决客户问题的效果如何。
You might think AI was built to support workers like Mylene, but she fears AI will replace her in the near future, a phrase meaning 'very soon' or 'within a short time'.
你可能认为人工智能是为了支持像Mylene这样的雇员而构建的,但她担心人工智能会在不久的将来取代她,in the near future的意思是“很快”或“在短时间内”。
Mylene emphasises her fears about being replaced by giving details about a study she read, which claimed that 27% of workers will be displaced by AI.
Mylene强调了她对被取代的恐惧,并详细介绍了她读过的一项研究,该研究声称27%的员工将被人工智能取代。
She uses the phrase, as a matter of fact, to emphasise what she's saying, and to give more detail as evidence to support it.
她使用as a matter of fact这个短语是为了强调自己所说的话,并提供更多细节作为支持证据。
But Mylene thinks AI will never fully replace humans. She says AI lacks one important quality, empathy. Here, she explains more to BBC World Service's, 'Tech Life':
但Mylene认为人工智能永远不会完全取代人类。她说人工智能缺乏一个重要的品质,即同理心。她向BBC世界服务节目“科技生活”做了更多解释:
Well, I don't think AI is, you know, empathetic, or… whenever they talk, I mean if ever a machine or a robot talks to them, you know, people are more compassionate than, you know, when you talk to a robot.
我认为人工智能没有同理心,无论何时他们说话,如果机器人与他们交谈,人们会比与机器人交谈时更有同情心。
Mylene says that AI is not empathetic. Unlike humans, it can't put itself in someone else's place and share their feelings or experiences.
Mylene说人工智能没有同理心。与人类不同,它不能设身处地共享他们的感受或经历。
If you listen carefully to Mylene's speech, you'll notice she says, "you know", a lot. Phrases like, "you know","um" and "ah" are called filler words and are used to give the speaker time to think, or to express uncertainty.
如果你仔细听Mylene的演讲,你会注意到她经常说“you know”。像“you know”、“um”和“ah”这样的短语被称为填充词,用于给说话者时间思考,或表达不确定性。
Right, I think it's time I revealed the answer to my question, Phil. I asked you how many call centre workers are there globally.
我想是时候揭晓我的问题的答案了,菲尔。我问你全球有多少呼叫中心工作人员。
And I said 17 million. Which is the right answer. OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned in this programme, starting with yelling, another word for shouting.
我说有1700万。这是正确答案。好的,让我们回顾一下在本期节目中学到的词汇,从yelling开始,shouting的同义词。
To pacify someone means to calm them down when they're angry. In the near future means very soon, or within a short time.
To pacify someone意味着在他们生气时让他们平静下来。In the near future意味着很快,或在很短的时间内。
The phrase, as a matter of fact is used to add emphasis to what you're saying, to give more detail about what you've just said, or to introduce something that contrasts with it.
as a matter of fact这个短语用于强调你所说的话,为你刚才说的话提供更多细节,或引入与之形成对比的东西。
If you're empathetic, you're able to put yourself in someone else's position and share their feelings or experiences.
如果你emphathetic,你就能把自己放在别人的立场上,分享他们的感受或经历。
And finally, filler words like 'um', 'ah' and 'you know' give the speaker more time to think, or to express uncertainty. Once again, our six minutes are up, Bye! Bye!
最后,像“um”、“ah”和“you know”这样的填充词给说话者更多的时间去思考,或者表达不确定性。六分钟时间又到了,再见!再见!