Directions:Inthissection,youaregoingtoreadapassagewithtenstatementsattachedtoit.Eachstatementcontainsinformationgiveninoneoftheparagraphs.Identifytheparagraphfromwhichtheinformationisderived.
Youmaychooseaparagraphmorethanonce.Eachparagraphismarkedwithaletter.AnswerthequestionsbymarkingthecorrespondingletteronAnswerSheet2.
A.Robotshavebeenthestuffofsciencefictionforsolongthatitissurprisinglyhardtoseethemasthestuffofmanagementfact.ACzechplaywright,KarelCapek,gavethemtheirnamein1920(fromtheSlavonicwordfor"work").AnAmericanwriter,IsaacAsimov,confrontedthemwiththeirmostmemorabledilemmas.
Hollywoodturnedthemintosuperheroesandsupervillains.WhensomefilmcriticsdrewuplistsofHollywood's50greatestgoodguysand50greatestbaddies,theonlycharactertoappearonbothlistswasarobot,theTerminator.
B.Itistimeformanagementthinkerstocatchupwithscience-fictionwriters.Robotshavebeendoingauxiliaryjobsonproductionlinessincethe1960s.Theworldalreadyhasmorethanlmindustrialrobots.Thereisnowanaccelerationintheratesatwhichtheyarebecomingbothclevererandcheaper:anexplosivecombination.
Robotsarelearningtointeractwiththeworldaroundthem.Theirabilitytoseethingsisgettingeverclosertothatofhumans,asistheircapacitytoingestinformationandactonit.Tomorrow'srobotswillincreasinglytakeondelicate,complextasks.Andinsteadofbeingimprisonedincagestostopthemcollidingwithpeople,theywillbefreetowander.
C.America'sarmedforceshaveblazedatrailhere.Theynowhavenofewerthan12,000robotsservingintheirranks.PeterSinger,oftheBrookingsInstitution,athink-tank(智囊团),saysmankind's5,000-yearmonopolyonthefightingofwarisbreakingdown.Recentadditionstothebattlefieldincludetiny"insects"thatperformreconnaissance(侦查)missionsandgiant"dogs"toterrifyenemies.ThePentagonisalsoworkingontheEATR,arobotthatfuelsitselfbyeatingwhateverbiomass(生物量)itfindsaroundit.
D.Butthecivilianworldcannotbefarbehind.Whobettertocleansewersorsuckupnuclearwastethantheseremarkablemachines?TheJapanesehavemadesurprisinglylittleuseofrobotstoclearupaftertherecentearthquake,giventheirworldleadershipinthisarea.Theysaythattheyhadthewrongsortofrobotsinthewrongplaces.Buttheyhaveissuedaglobalcallforroboticassistanceandarelikelytoputmorerobotstoworkshortly.
E.Asrobotsadvanceintotheserviceindustriestheyarestartingtolooklesslikemachinesandmorelikelivingcreatures.TheParo(madebyAIST,aJapaneseresearchagency)isshapedlikeababysealandrespondstoattention.Honda'srobot,ASIMO,ishumanoidandcanwalk,talkandrespondtocommands.
F.Untilnowexecutiveshavelargelyignoredrobots,regardingthemasanengineeringratherthanamanagementproblem.Thiscannotgoon:robotsarebecomingtoopowerfulandubiquitous(无处不在的).Companiesmayneedtorethinktheirstrategiesastheygainaccesstothesenewsortsofworkers.DotheyreallyneedtooutsourceproductiontoChina,forexample,whentheyhaveclevermachinesthatworkceaselesslywithoutpay?Theycertainlyneedtorethinktheirhuman-resourcespolicies--startingbyquestioningwhethertheyshouldhavedepartmentsdevotedtopurelyhumanresources.
G.Thefirstissueishowtomanagetherobotsthemselves.Asimovlaiddownthebasicrulein1942:norobotshouldharmahuman.Thisrulehasbeenreinforcedbyrecenttechnologicalimprovements:robotsarenowmuchmoresensitivetotheirsurroundingsandcanbeinstructedtoavoidhittingpeople.ButthePentagon'splansmakeallthisabitmorecomplicated:manyofitsrobotswillbe,inessence,killingmachines.
H.Asecondquestionishowtomanagethehomosideofhomo-roborelations.Workershavealwaysworriedthatnewtechnologieswilltakeawaytheirlivelihoods,eversincetheoriginalLuddites'fearsaboutmechanisedlooms.Thatworrytakesonaparticularlyintenseformwhenthemachinescomewithahumanface:Capek'splaythatgaverobotstheirnamedepictedaworldinwhichtheyinitiallybroughtlotsofbenefitsbuteventuallyledtomassunemploymentanddiscontent.Now,thearrivalofincreasinglyhumanoidautomatonsinworkplaces,inaneraofhighunemployment,isboundtoprovokeareaction.
I.So,companieswillneedtoworkhardtopersuadeworkersthatrobotsareproductivity-enhancers,notjustjob-eatingaliens.Theyneedtoshowemployeesthattherobotsittingalongsidethemcanbemoreofahelpmatethanathreat.Audihasbeenparticularlysuccessfulinintroducingindustrialrobotsbecausethecarmakeraskedworkerstoidentifyareaswhererobotscouldimproveperformanceandthengavethoseworkersjobsoverseeingtherobots.Employersalsoneedtoexplainthatrobotscanhelppreservemanufacturingjobsintherichworld:onereasonwhyGermanyhaslostfewersuchjobsthanBritainisthatithasfivetimesasmanyrobotsforevery10,000workers.
J.Thesetwoprinciples--don'tletrobotshurtorfrightenpeople--arerelativelysimple.Robotscientistsaretacklingmorecomplicatedproblemsasrobotsbecomemoresophisticated.Theyarekeentoavoidhierarchies(层级)amongrescue-robots(becausethelossoftheleaderwouldrendertherestredundant).Sotheyareusinggametheorytomakesuretherobotscancommunicatewitheachotherinegalitarian(平等)ways.Theyarekeentoavoidduplicationbetweenrobotsandtheirhumanhandlers.Sotheyareproducingmorecomplicatedmathematicalformulaeinorderthatrobotscanconstantlyadjustthemselvestohumanintentions.
Thissuggeststhattheworldcouldbeonthevergeofagreatmanagementrevolution:makingrobotsbehavelikehumansratherthanthe20thcentury'spreferredoption,makinghumansbehavelikerobots.