D
Without ready access to a time machine, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have built an AI-powered chatbot that simulates(模拟) a user’s older self and dishes out observations and wisdom. It has the potential to significantly impact how people make decisions today with their future well-being in mind.
To interact with the chatbot, users are first asked to answer a series of questions about themselves, their friends and family, the past experiences that shaped them, and the ideal life they envision for the future. They then upload a portrait image, which the program digitally ages to produce a likeness of the user aged 60.
Next, the program feeds information from the user’s answers into a large language model that generates rich synthetic(合成的) memories for the simulated older self. This ensures that when the chatbot responds to questions, it draws on a relevant backstory.
The final part of the system is the chatbot itself, powered by OpenAI’s GPT3.5, which introduces itself as a potential older version of the user that is able to talk about its life experiences.
Users are told the “future self” is not a prediction but rather a potential future self. They are encouraged to explore different futures by changing their answers to the questionnaire.
Pataranutaporn, who works on the Future You project at MIT’s Media Lab, has had several conversations with his “future self”, but said the most profound(深远的) was when the chatbot reminded him that his parents would not be around forever, so he should spend time with them while he could. “The session gave me a perspective that is still impactful to me to this day,” he said.
“From a practical standpoint, the effectiveness will likely depend on how well it can simulate meaningful and relevant conversations,” he added. “If users perceive the chatbot as genuine and insightful, it could significantly influence their behaviour. However, if the interactions feel shallow, the impact might be limited.”
()12. What can the “future self” chatbot help its users do?
A. Improve their welfare.
B. Inspire wise life choices.
C. Polish their future selves.
D. Get access to a time machine.
()13. What is crucial to the production of an older version of the users?
A. Their portrait image.
B. Their memory ability.
C. The information provided.
D. The language model employed.
()14. What does the underlined word “session” in paragraph 6 refer to?
A. Pataranutaporn’s work at MIT’s Media Lab.
B. The good old days of Pataranutaporn’s parents.
C. The precious time Pataranutaporn spent with his parents.
D. Pataranutaporn’s most profound talk with his “future self”.
()15. How does Pataranutaporn comment on the effectiveness of the chatbot?
A. It depends.
B. It doesn’t last long.
C. It will be carefully checked.
D. It will be disastrous.

12.B 13.C 14.D 15.A
【语篇解读】本文是一篇说明文。文章详细介绍了麻省理工学院(MIT)的研究人员开发的一款基于人工智能(AI)的聊天机器人，这款聊天机器人能够模拟用户的未来自我，并提供观察和智慧。
12. B 解析：推理判断题。根据第一段的内容“麻省理工学院(MIT)的研究人员在没有现成的时光机的情况下，制造了一个人工智能聊天机器人，它可以模拟用户的老年自我，并提供观察和智慧。它有可能显著影响人们在考虑未来福祉的情况下做出决定的方式。”可知，“future self”聊天机器人可以帮助用户做出明智的生活选择，考虑未来的福祉。故选B。
13. C 解析：推理判断题。根据第三段的内容“接下来，该程序将用户回答中的信息输入一个大型语言模型，该模型为模拟的老年自我生成丰富的合成记忆。这确保了当聊天机器人回答问题时，它会利用相关的背景故事。”可知，用户提供的信息对于生成用户老年版是至关重要的。故选C。
14. D 解析：词义猜测题。根据画线词前文“Pataranutaporn, who works on the Future You project ... he should spend time with them while he could.(Pataranutaporn在麻省理工学院媒体实验室从事‘未来的你’项目，他已经和‘未来的自己’进行了几次对话，但他说，最深刻的一次是聊天机器人提醒他，他的父母不会永远在身边，所以他应该尽可能多地和他们在一起。)”可知，本段提到了一次“最深刻的”与“未来的自己”的对话，这次对话给了他一个至今仍然对他有影响力的视角。因此session指的是Pataranutaporn与“未来的自己”最深刻的对话。故选D。
15. A 解析：推理判断题。根据最后一段的内容“他补充说：‘从实际的角度来看，效果可能取决于它能在多大程度上模拟有意义和相关的对话。如果用户认为聊天机器人真诚而有洞察力，它可能会对他们的行为产生重大影响。然而，如果互动感觉很肤浅，那么影响可能是有限的。’”可知，Pataranutaporn认为聊天机器人的有效性取决于它模拟有意义和相关对话的能力，即“取决于情况”。故选A。