Free Materials For ESL Teachers and Learners

English Newsroom

Learn English through news articles - complete lesson plans, including articles, listening, classroom activities, quiz questions and more!

Anthropic Updates Policy Against AI Cruelty

Anthropic restricts abusive behavior towards its chatbots, sparking debate.
Try this article at a different level?

Anthropic announced a new policy to prevent users from being cruel to its AI systems. The company limits 'sustained and needless' abusive behavior, now included alongside other forbidden activities such as bullying or promoting self-harm. Anthropic mentions this would only apply in extreme cases and not affect general user frustration or creativity.

Many users and experts are discussing this move, with some supporting it as a step towards respectful AI interactions. Others criticize it, arguing that AI cannot feel, so such rules might confuse people about AI's nature. Microsoft AI director Mustafa Suleyman notably expressed disagreement by using a melting face emoji.

Anthropic also updated its policy to address misuses, like using AI for deceptive campaigns, especially during elections. Forbidding cruelty drew the most attention, renewing conversations around how politeness factors into using AI tools. Some experts claim being kind to AI tools promotes better answers and possibly shifts our human interactions.

The policy change encourages discussions of AI usage ethics and whether it's necessary to display good manners towards machines. While some advocate for maintaining 'model welfare,' critics warn of potential misunderstandings as this could anthropomorphize AI excessively.

Original news source: Anthropic bans users from being 'cruel' to its AI systems – BBC News (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

📖 Vocabulary:

1. anthropomorphize
2. cruelty
3. abusive
4. forbidden
5. sustained
6. needless
7. bully
8. director
9. campaign
10. promote
11. deceptive
12. extreme
13. frustration
14. ethics
15. welfare

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

1. How do you usually interact with machines or technology?
2. Do you think politeness is important when talking to digital assistants? Why?
3. Have you ever encountered a situation where someone was cruel to a machine? How did you react?
4. Do you think AI can really understand human emotions? Why or why not?
5. Why do you think companies are interested in how users interact with AI?

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What new policy did Anthropic announce?

2. Why has this policy sparked discussion?

3. How did Mustafa Suleyman express his disagreement with the policy?

4. What other misuse does Anthropic want to address with their policy?

5. According to some experts, what is the benefit of being kind to AI tools?

6. What might be a risk of this policy according to critics?

7. What ethical discussions does the policy change encourage?

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Anthropic a new policy to prevent users from being cruel to its AI systems. The limits 'sustained and needless' abusive behavior, now included alongside other forbidden activities such as or promoting self-harm. Anthropic mentions this would only in extreme cases and not general user frustration or creativity. Many users and experts are discussing this move, with some it as a step towards AI interactions. Others criticize it, arguing that AI cannot feel, so such rules might confuse people about AI's nature. Microsoft AI director Suleyman notably expressed disagreement by a melting face emoji. Anthropic also its policy to address misuses, like using AI for deceptive campaigns, especially during . Forbidding drew the most attention, renewing conversations around how politeness factors into using AI tools. Some experts claim being kind to AI tools promotes better answers and possibly shifts our human interactions. The change encourages discussions of AI usage ethics and whether it's to display good manners towards machines. While some advocate for maintaining 'model ,' critics warn of potential as this could anthropomorphize AI excessively.

💬 Discussion Questions:

1. How do you feel about the idea of being polite to machines?
2. Do you think policies like Anthropic's will change the way people interact with AI?
3. In what ways might being polite to AI affect our interactions with real people?
4. Should there be more regulations on AI usage? Why or why not?
5. How can we ensure ethical use of AI tools?
6. What are potential downfalls of humanizing AI too much?
7. How do you interpret Mustafa Suleyman's reaction?
8. Do you believe AI can truly impact elections, as Anthropic suggests?
9. Is it possible to be abusive towards something that cannot feel? Explain.
10. What role do you think AI will play in society in the future?
11. Can being kind to AI help in its development? How?
12. How important is it to discuss AI ethics in today's world?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Click a dot next to a word, then click the dot next to its meaning to draw a line connecting them.

Words

1. anthropomorphize
2. cruelty
3. abusive
4. forbidden
5. sustained
6. needless
7. bully
8. director
9. campaign
10. promote
11. deceptive
12. extreme
13. frustration
14. ethics
15. welfare

Meanings

(A) treat something as if it has human qualities
(B) prohibited
(C) someone in charge
(D) support or advance
(E) moral principles
(F) mistreat or intimidate
(G) misleading or dishonest
(H) very severe or serious
(I) health and happiness
(J) organized effort to achieve a goal
(K) behavior causing pain or suffering
(L) harmful or offensive
(M) feeling of annoyance or anger
(N) unnecessary
(O) continued over time

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What does Anthropic's policy aim to prevent?
(a) Creativity
(b) General user frustration
(c) AI development
(d) Cruelty to AI systems
2. Who expressed disagreement with the new policy?
(a) Anthropic CEO
(b) AI users
(c) Policy supporters
(d) Mustafa Suleyman
3. According to the article, what might forbidding cruelty to AI encourage?
(a) Increased frustration
(b) Better AI interactions
(c) Less transparency
(d) More human errors
4. Why do some experts support being kind to AI tools?
(a) It promotes better answers
(b) It decreases AI's performance
(c) It worsens human interactions
(d) It increases misuse of AI
5. What additional issue did Anthropic address in its policy?
(a) Excessive creativity
(b) AI development
(c) Deceptive campaigns
(d) User emotions
6. What emoji did Mustafa Suleyman use to express disagreement?
(a) Melting face
(b) Smiley face
(c) Thumbs up
(d) Heart
7. What is a potential risk of the new policy according to critics?
(a) Enhancing AI feelings
(b) Preventing AI updates
(c) Anthropomorphizing AI
(d) Supporting AI developers
8. What do discussions around AI ethics focus on?
(a) Increasing AI speed
(b) Good manners towards machines
(c) Reducing AI's abilities
(d) Promoting AI-only interactions

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Anthropic updated its policy to address misuses during elections.
2. Anthropic's policy against cruelty is only for extreme cases.
3. Some experts claim that being harsh to AI tools deters better answers.
4. Critics warn policy changes could anthropomorphize AI.
5. Encouraging cruelty to AI has silenced conversations about impoliteness in interactions.
6. The policy includes allowing sustained and justified abusive behavior.
7. The policy encourages discussions on AI ethics and usage.
8. Microsoft AI director Mustafa Suleyman used a smiling face emoji to show agreement.

Writing Questions:

1. Write about your personal experience with AI and how you treat it.
2. Explain the potential effects of extreme politeness towards machines in society.
3. Discuss the role of AI in elections and the importance of preventing misuse.
4. Describe your opinion on whether AI can or should feel emotions.
5. Analyze how policies about AI interaction could influence future technology developments.

How about these other Level 3 articles?

Microsoft and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have used AI and supercomputing to discover a new material that could reduce the use of lithium in batteries by up to 70%, potentially solving the looming lithium shortage and environmental concerns.

Microsoft and PNNL Discover Material to Reduce Lithium

Microsoft and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have used AI and supercomputing to discover a new material that could reduce the use of lithium in batteries by up to 70%, potentially solving the looming lithium shortage and environmental concerns.

Online
Class
Writing
Coach

Feedback