百度在愚人節啓動凡爾納計劃 劉慈欣任顧問

April Fools' Day is not all about pranks. China's Internet giant Baidu is dead serious about its plan－ to be launched on April 1－to include science fiction writers in its research on artificial intelligence.

愚人節可不是隻有惡作劇。中國互聯網巨頭百度在4月1日推出的計劃是認真的：邀請科幻小說作家參與人工智能的研究。

The Baidu Verne Plan involves setting up a consulting team to bring the world's best science fiction writers together with leading scientists in a quest to turn imagination into reality.

該計劃稱爲百度凡爾納計劃，它建立了一個由世界上最好的科幻作家與頂尖科學家組成的顧問團隊，探尋把想象變成現實之路。

The project, named after French novelist Jules Verne, has already invited six people to be the first group of advisers in the team, according to Beijing-based Baidu.

據總部位於北京的百度公司介紹，這個項目是根據法國小說家儒勒·凡爾納的名字而命名的，目前已經邀請了6人成爲該顧問團隊的首批成員。

The company said that some of Verne's imagination seen in his books in the 19th century, such as helicopters, had been realized in the 20th century.

百度公司方面表示，19世紀凡爾納著作中的一些想象，比如直升飛機，在20世紀已經成爲了現實。

Apart from Andrew Ng, Baidu's chief scientist, the other five advisers are science fiction writers. They include Liu Cixin, who last year became the first Asian author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel for his book The Three-Body Problem, and David Brin, an award-winning author from the United States.

除了百度首席科學家吳恩達之外，其他5位顧問都是科幻小說作家。他們包括去年憑藉《三體》贏得雨果獎最佳小說的亞洲第一人劉慈欣，以及來自美國的、屢次獲獎的作家大衛·布林。

Baidu said in a statement that the advisers would receive updated information on how the company is developing certain technologies. They will also be able to communicate with Baidu's research and development team to turn some of the ideas into products through brainstorming.

百度公司在一份聲明中表示，這些顧問會收到公司如何開發相關技術的更新信息。他們也可以與百度研究與開發團隊交流，通過頭腦風暴把想法變爲產品。

Liu Cixin told The Paper in an interview: "This is an innovative organization. Many ideas, along with innovative work, will be born here. The project will focus on artificial intelligence, and there will be an opportunity for us to work with scientists once the project is officially launched."

劉慈欣在接受《澎湃新聞》的採訪時表示：“這是一家創意公司。許多想法和創新工作都會在這裏誕生。這個項目會聚焦人工智能，當項目官方成立後，我們有機會和科學家一起工作。”