The source article is in Chinese. Click the picture to be directed.

We have summarized a very interesting article that highlights the most recent AI development as well as its future. Most of the information and comments are from this link which we translated. AI will become very powerful in every aspect, so the question for humans is how to apply it best in our world.

The next wave of AI: Studying the human brain 

This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics was won by Hopfield and Hinton. They used physics knowledge and tools to respectively invent the well-known artificial neural network, The Hopfield network and the Boltzmann machine, laying an important foundation for machine learning technology and promoting the development of AI.

Artificial neural networks are technologies that imitate the operation of the human brain. Hinton said that if we can understand how the brain adjusts the strength of connections between neurons, we can create amazing AI systems like GPT-4. AI will definitely be better than humans. It will be more intelligent, have a wealth of knowledge, but require far fewer neural connections than humans.

Hassabis, who jointly won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Baker and is the founder of Google DeepMind, believes that the next stage of research can use AI models to analyze the human brain to promote progress in the field of neuroscience. “I think this is a complete cycle. Neuroscience kind of inspired modern AI, and then AI will come back to help us understand what’s special about the brain.”

Can AI knowledge surpass that of humans?

When asked whether or not AI will be able to surpass the knowledge of humans, Hinton said that he believes we’ve already been surpassed. He added that though AI still has the problem of fabricating facts, also known as hallucinating, it doesn’t change the fact that it still has a greater range of knowledge than any human being.

When asked for his comment, Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine, Ruvkun, said that he believes human capabilities have been overestimated, and humans are just as liable to create false information like AI does. This is especially true with the rise of social media, which has only made the situation more serious. He concluded his thoughts by saying that it’s necessary for AI to reach the level of human beings, but it’s not a level that’s too difficult to reach.

Hassabis was also in agreement, and said that AI capabilities will advance rapidly in all aspects. Consequently, it is very important to think about how humans will design the AI systems and how they are applied in the real world.

What is a Hopfield Network?

A Hopfield network is a type of recurrent artificial neural network, often considered a “content-addressable memory,” which is designed to store patterns and can retrieve a complete pattern even when given a partial or noisy input, essentially acting like an associative memory system by minimizing an “energy function” to reach stable states; named after its inventor, John Hopfield.

Structure:

A single layer of neurons where each neuron is connected to every other neuron in the network, with symmetric connections (meaning the weight from neuron A to B is the same as the weight from B to A).

Function:

By adjusting the connection weights, the network can store patterns, and when presented with a partial or noisy version of a stored pattern, it will iteratively update its state to converge towards the closest stored pattern.

Energy Minimization:

The network operates by minimizing an “energy function,” where each state change reduces the energy, eventually leading to a stable state representing a stored pattern.

Applications:

Image restoration, pattern recognition, optimization problems, and understanding associative memory in the brain.

We hope this has been an interesting read. Now, what’s next? We look forward to seeing you in the next blog!

1. Aren’t translators and interpreters the same?

This is a very, very common misconception. Outside of the language service provider sphere, “translator” and “interpreter” can be used interchangeably in most discussions. Such as: “We’ll need a translator at the board meeting” versus “We’ll need an interpreter at the board meeting.”

But just what is the difference between those terms? Simply enough, both “translator” and “interpreter” refer to someone who conveys information from one language to another; more specifically, a “translator” works with written words, while an “interpreter” works with spoken words. Some people are only translators, some are only interpreters, and others are both.

2. Can’t any bilingual person be a translator/interpreter?

A very common misconception (in the workplace especially) is “Billy is bilingual, so he can handle this project and translate/interpret for us.” Just because a person is bilingual (or trilingual or more, even), does not mean that they have the training required to be a proper translator or interpreter.

Imagine that “Billy” speaks Spanish at home, but grew up going to school where the primary language of instruction was English. While there’s a chance he can talk about any subject at home with his family members, a likely scenario is that he will know more about biology in English terms rather than Spanish terms. Unless the conversation were very simple, such as general conversation for travel or something similar, it would be very difficult for Billy to translate or interpret something.

Translators and interpreters go through rigorous training for their respective crafts, and have expanded their vocabularies enough to compensate. Proper translators and interpreters have high-level certifications as well.

3. I know a translator/interpreter who did Assignment X, why can’t they do Assignment Y?

In the language services industry, some translators and interpreters can fall under the category of “subject matter experts.” These people have trained to not just be general translators or interpreters, but have polished their skills to cater to certain types of work.

Take “Billy” from above, for example. Imagine he’s become passionate for being an interpreter, and his other interest in biology spurs him to an interest in medical interpretation. After enough study, focus, and—of course—certification, he becomes a proper medical interpreter and specializes in speaking between doctors and patients about surgeries. He might be able to do general interpretation as well, but because of his deep specialty, he might have trouble if he suddenly needed to interpret for, say, a lawyer discussing a lawsuit.

Just like how doctors and lawyers require separate studies, medical interpreters and legal interpreters also require focused study in their area of expertise. They may have skills that overlap, but generally, it’s best to rely on separate translators/interpreters who are subject matter experts rather than the same one for every single job.

4. Wouldn’t machine translation work well enough?

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Machine translation can certainly help a translator do their work. Computer-assisted translation tools (called CAT tools in the industry) can keep a handy glossary of terms for the translator, and have the memory to provide reference for older, similar translations.

But if we rely only on machine translation, any number of problems can happen. Machines think very differently than humans and might misinterpret context, homonyms, word register, and so on. Computers may be able to perform complex mathematical calculations, but the human brain is hardwired for language. Put simply, a translation from a human is going to sound a lot more natural—and have fewer mistakes—than a simple machine translation.

5. Why does a translation need proofreading? Shouldn’t the translator be enough for that?

Speaking of “mistakes,” mistakes happen. To err is human, after all. Translators need proofreaders for the same reason that a journalist, book writer, or a lawyer needs one. Mistakes concerning facts, grammar, spelling, etc. can easily be made by any sort of writer, and the same goes for a translator.

Having a second pair of eyes does wonders for any written work. A proofreader for a translation can catch errors in spelling, word register, a forgotten period or comma—anything that might have slipped through the cracks. If you want a translation to be as polished as possible, having a proofreader is essential.