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.
愚人节可不是只有恶作剧。中国互联网巨头百度在4月1日推出的计划是认真的：邀请科幻小说作家参与人工智能的研究。
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.
该计划称为百度凡尔纳计划，它建立了一个由世界上最好的科幻作家与顶尖科学家组成的顾问团队，探寻把想象变成现实之路。
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.
据总部位于北京的百度公司介绍，这个项目是根据法国小说家儒勒·凡尔纳的名字而命名的，目前已经邀请了6人成为该顾问团队的首批成员。

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世纪凡尔纳著作中的一些想象，比如直升飞机，在20世纪已经成为了现实。
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.
除了百度首席科学家吴恩达之外，其他5位顾问都是科幻小说作家。他们包括去年凭借《三体》赢得雨果奖最佳小说的亚洲第一人刘慈欣，以及来自美国的、屡次获奖的作家大卫·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.
百度公司在一份声明中表示，这些顾问会收到公司如何开发相关技术的更新信息。他们也可以与百度研究与开发团队交流，通过头脑风暴把想法变为产品。
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."
刘慈欣在接受《澎湃新闻》的采访时表示：“这是一家创意公司。许多想法和创新工作都会在这里诞生。这个项目会聚焦人工智能，当项目官方成立后，我们有机会和科学家一起工作。”