2021年经济学人 一种优化机器人的新奇方法

Science and Technology

科技版块

Unimals

通用动物

Balls, sticks and the Baldwin effect

球形，棍形和鲍德温效应

A novel way to optimise robots

一种优化机器人的新奇方法

It might sound obvious that if you want to improve a robot's software, you should improve its software.

如果你想改进一个机器人的软件，你就应该改进它的软件，听起来像是明摆着的事。

Agrim Gupta of Stanford University, however, begs to differ.

但斯坦福大学的阿格里姆·古普塔却不这么认为。

He thinks you can also improve a robot's software by improving its hardware—that is, by letting the hardware adapt itself to the software’s capabilities¹.

他认为还可以通过改进硬件来改进机器人的软件，这种对硬件的改进是让硬件去自适应软件的功能。

As they describe in Nature Communications, he and his colleagues have devised a way of testing this idea.

据他和同事在《自然通讯》中的描述，他们设计出了一种方法来测试这一想法。

In doing so, they have brought to robotics the principles of evolution by natural selection.

在此过程中，他们把通过自然选择来实现进化的原理引入了机器人科学领域。

They also cast the spotlight² on an evolutionary³ idea that dates from the 1890s, but which has hitherto proved hard to demonstrate.

一个有关进化的观点也因他们而受到关注，这个观点可以追溯到19世纪90年代，但直到今天都还很难被证明。

There is a wrinkle.

他们想到了一个好主意。

The team's robots, which they dub⁴ "unimals", are not things of metal and plastic.

这支团队的机器人——取名“unimal”（通用动物）——不是用金属和塑料制成的。

Rather, they are software entities⁵ that interact with a virtual environment in the way that metal-and-plastic devices might interact with a real one.

机器人都是软件实体，可以与虚拟环境交互，就像用金属和塑料制成的设备可以与真实环境交互一样。

Unimals are pretty simple, having spheres for heads and cylinders⁶ for limbs.

unimal的模样非常简单，头是球体，胳膊或腿是圆柱体。

The environments through which they roamed were also simple, and came in three varieties: flat arenas⁷, arenas filled with hills, steps and rubble⁸, and ones that had the complexities⁹ of the second sort, but with added props¹⁰ like cubes that needed to be moved around.

它们漫游其中的环境也很简单，分为三种：第一种很平坦，第二种布满小山丘、台阶和瓦砾；第三种和第二种一样复杂，但还增加了像立方体这样需要被移动的道具。

To begin with, the unimals were given a variety of randomly¹¹ assigned shapes, but with identical software running each of them.

首先，研究人员给unimal提供了各种随机分配的形状，但每个形状都有相同的软件运行。

That software was a piece of artificial intelligence called a deep evolutionary reinforcement learning algorithm, or derl.

该软件是一款人工智能软件，叫做深度进化强化学习算法，简称derl。

Newly created unimals started in a virtual boot camp, in which the derl learned enough about the world to face the challenges to come.

新创建的unimal始于一个虚拟的新兵训练营，derl可以对世界有足够多的了解以应对即将到来的挑战。

They were then entered into tournaments.

然后开始进行锦标赛。

In groups of four, Dr Gupta put them through tests of agility¹², stability and ability to manipulate objects.

古普塔博士将他们分成四人一组，让他们接受敏捷性、稳定性和操纵物体能力的测试。

Each group's winner was allowed to "breed" by spawning¹³ a daughter with one mutation¹⁴ (an extra limb for stability, perhaps, or extra rotation¹⁵ in a joint¹⁶, for flexibility).

每组的优胜者都被允许“繁殖”，产生一个带有突变的女儿（可能是为了稳定，或者是为了关节的额外旋转，以提高灵活性）。

This daughter was substituted for the oldest unimal in the pool, assigned to a new group of four, and the process repeated.

这个女儿取代了其中年龄最大的一个，被分配到一个新的四人组，这个过程不断重复。

Unimals were withdrawn¹⁷ from the fray¹⁸ after ten generations of evolution, and Dr Gupta reckons about 4,000 varieties of them underwent training.

经过十代的进化后结束比赛，古普塔博士估计它们中大约有4000个变种接受了训练。

The team were surprised by the diversity of shapes that evolved.

研究小组对进化过程中形状的多样性感到惊讶。

Some had arms as well as legs.

有些既有胳膊又有腿。

Others had only legs.

其他的只有腿。

There were bipeds, tripeds and quadrupeds.

有两足、三足和四足动物。

Some moved like lizards¹⁹.

有些像蜥蜴一样移动。

Others resembled an octopus²⁰ walking on land.

有些像在陆地上行走的章鱼。

Crucially, though, the researchers found that the most successful unimals learned tasks in half the time that their oldest ancestors had taken, and that those which evolved in the toughest arenas were the most successful of all.

然而，至关重要的是，研究人员发现，最成功的unimal学习任务的时间是它们最古老的祖先所用时间的一半，而那些在最艰苦的环境中进化出来的unimal是最成功的。

In this evolution of unimals' morphology to promote the ability to learn, Dr Gupta sees a version of something called the Baldwin effect.

古普塔博士看到了鲍德温效应在竞赛中的体现，在unimal的进化过程中促进了学习能力的提高。

In 1896 James Baldwin, an American psychologist, argued that minds evolve to make optimal²¹ use of the morphologies of the bodies they find themselves in.

1896年，美国心理学家詹姆斯·鲍德温提出，人的进化是为了最大限度地利用他们所处的身体形态。

What Dr Gupta has shown, though in software rather than in the real, biological world, is that the obverse can also be true—changes in body morphology can optimise the way minds (or, at least, derls) work.

古普塔博士已经证明，尽管是在软件中而不是在真实的生物世界中，相反的情况也可能会发生的——身体形态的改变可以优化大脑（或者至少是derl）的工作方式。

Even though he held the software constant from generation to generation, it became more efficient at learning as the unimals' bodies evolved.

尽管他一代又一代地保持软件不变，但随着unimal的进化，它在学习方面也更加高效。

Whether that discovery can be turned to account in the way robots are developed remains²² to be seen.

这一发现是否可以用于机器人的开发，还有待考究。

But it is certainly, in the jargon²³ beloved of some businessfolk, an out-of-the-box idea.

但用一些商人喜爱的行话来说，这肯定是一个创新的想法。

1 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

2 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

3 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

4 dub   

vt.（以某种称号）授予，给...起绰号，复制

参考例句：

• I intend to use simultaneous recording to dub this film.我打算采用同期录音的方法为这部影片配音。
• It was dubbed into Spanish for Mexican audiences.它被译制成西班牙语以方便墨西哥观众观看。

5 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

6 cylinders   

n.圆筒( cylinder的名词复数 )；圆柱；汽缸；（尤指用作容器的）圆筒状物

参考例句：

• They are working on all cylinders to get the job finished. 他们正在竭尽全力争取把这工作干完。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• That jeep has four cylinders. 那辆吉普车有4个汽缸。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 arenas   

表演场地( arena的名词复数 )； 竞技场； 活动或斗争的场所或场面； 圆形运动场

参考例句：

• Demolition derbies are large-scale automobile rodeos that take place in big arenas. 撞车比赛指的是在很大的竞技场上举行的大型汽车驾驶技术表演。
• Are there areas of privacy in the most public of arenas? 在绝大部分公开的场合中存在需要保护隐私的领域吗？

8 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

9 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。

10 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

11 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

12 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。

13 spawning   

产卵

参考例句：

• Encounter sites have a small chance of spawning a "Commander" NPC. 遭遇战地区有很小的几率遇到NPC指挥官。
• Instantly revives your Champion at your Spawning Pool, 9 minute cooldown. 立即在出生地复活你的英雄，冷却时间9分钟。

14 mutation   

n.变化，变异，转变

参考例句：

• People who have this mutation need less sleep than others.有这种突变的人需要的睡眠比其他人少。
• So far the discussion has centered entirely around mutation in the strict sense.到目前为止，严格来讲，讨论完全集中于围绕突变问题上。

15 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

16 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

17 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

18 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。

19 lizards   

n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nothing lives in Pompeii except crickets and beetles and lizards. 在庞培城里除了蟋蟀、甲壳虫和蜥蜴外，没有别的生物。 来自辞典例句
• Can lizards reproduce their tails? 蜥蜴的尾巴断了以后能再生吗？ 来自辞典例句

20 octopus   

n.章鱼

参考例句：

• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。
• One octopus has eight tentacles.一条章鱼有八根触角。

21 optimal   

adj.最适宜的；最理想的；最令人满意的

参考例句：

• What is the optimal mix of private and public property rights in natural resources?私人和国家的自然资源产权的最适宜的组合是什么？
• Optimal path planning is a key link for the sailing contest.帆船最优行驶路径规划是帆船比赛取胜的关键环节。

22 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

23 jargon   

n.术语，行话

参考例句：

• They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
• It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.