会议是许多企业和公司的常规组成部分。但很多人认为会议是耗时、枯燥和无效的。有理论证实，人工智能可能是帮助人们组织更好、更高效的会议的答案。人工智能是怎么办到的？本集《随身英语》讨论人工智能是否能给商务会议注入新活力。

Vocabulary:  business meetings 词汇: 商务会议

Business meetings are, arguably, a necessary part of any organisation where people work collectively to accomplish a goal. But badly managed, meetings can be unproductive, boring and feel like a complete waste of time. In a recent survey conducted by governance technology firm eShare, it was found that the average UK employee spends over 10 hours weekly preparing for and attending meetings – approximately 50% of which they consider unnecessary. However, there are theories that technology could improve things. 

It's "very feasible" for an AI to be able to recognise when one person is hijacking a meeting, or if a circular discussion keeps returning to a single issue, says James Campanini, from videoconferencing company, BlueJeans. "If no new points are made after a while, the AI could suggest to wrap up," says Cynthia Rudin, a computer science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. But AI isn’t quite there yet.

"If AI can do most of the mundane and drudgery work during business meetings, that leaves more space for humans to think about strategy and vision," believes Niki Iliadis at the Big Innovation centre, London, an innovation hub in AI. This seems to be true. The prefecture of Osaka in Japan started using an AI as a minute taker to transcribe and summarise the 450 annual cabinet meetings. It has halved the time needed to produce summaries and cut staff overtime, claims the prefecture.

AI can also help with the matter of attendance. If a meeting with irrelevant subject matter is called, or if it's an an inconvenient time, an AI could be used to decide who should attend the meeting and when it should be, says Elise Keith from Lucid Meetings, a US-based meeting management platform.

Finally, one Stockholm start-up, Mentimeter, allows meeting  attendees to give anonymous feedback about a discussion. Using the software, participants can make open-ended responses, submit comments or vote in multiple-choice quizzes. This has "fundamentally changed the dynamics of a presentation," says Austin Broad from financial services firm AFH Wealth Management.

While tools that can create agendas, send meeting invitations, distribute the minutes, and keep track of action items should improve effectiveness, they are still in development. Let's hope that if or when they do arrive, they will meet our expectations.

词汇表

badly managed 管理糟糕的，无序的
unproductive 无效的，收益很小的
a complete waste of time 完全浪费时间
attend 参加
hijack 控制，把持（不属于其本人的东西）
circular discussion 巡回无效的讨论
videoconference 可视会议
wrap up 结束，画上句号
strategy 策略
vision （企业）愿景
minute taker 会议记录员
transcribe 记录下
summarise 总结，概述
attendee 参加者
presentation 报告，演讲
agenda 会议议程
meeting invitation 会议邀请
the minutes 会议记录
action item 行动方案

测验与练习

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. How much time does the average UK employee spend preparing for and attending meetings?

2. True or false: UK employees believe that all meetings are unnecessary.

3. If AI can do the mundane work, what will it allow more space for humans to do?

4. How much of a difference has an AI made to the prefecture of Osaka?

5. What three things does the Mentimeter software allow participants to do?

2. 请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1. John's very loud and direct, so he tends to ______ meetings. Keep an eye on him.

attend       hijack       action item       vision

2. OK everyone, if there's no AOB then we should ______ this meeting. Thanks.

transcribe       vote       wrap up       agenda

3. We had a meeting this morning with no outcome. It was so ______.

unproductive       visionary       strategic       attended

4. I will act as chairperson and Mr Johnson will be ______. Item 1 on the agenda is…

a complete waste of time       videoconference       attendee       minute-taker

5. We have two good ideas so let's put it to a ______. All those in favour of idea 1?

vote       presentation       action item       vision

答案

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. How much time does the average UK employee spend preparing for and attending meetings?
The average UK employee spends over 10 hours weekly preparing for and attending meetings.

2. True or false: Surveyed UK employees believe that all meetings are unnecessary.
False. Surveyed UK employees believe that approximately 50% of meetings are unnecessary.

3. If AI can do the mundane work, what will it allow more space for humans to do?
It will leave more space for humans to think about strategy and vision.

4. How much of a difference has an AI made to the prefecture of Osaka?
It has halved the time needed to produce summaries and cut staff overtime, claims the prefecture.

5. What three things does the Mentimeter software allow participants to do?
Participants can make open-ended responses, submit comments or vote in multiple-choice quizzes.

2. 请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1. John's very loud and direct, so he tends to hijack meetings. Keep an eye on him.

2. OK everyone, if there's no AOB then we should wrap up this meeting. Thanks.

3. We had a meeting this morning with no outcome. It was so unproductive.

4. I will act as chairperson and Mr Johnson will be minute taker. Item 1 on the agenda is…

5. We have two good ideas so let's put it to a vote. All those in favour of idea 1?