Meta, a big tech company, has made new chatbots for its Messenger service. These chatbots will have their own “personality” and know a lot about specific things. The main chatbot, named “Meta AI,” can be used for messaging and can answer questions. Famous people like Snoop Dogg and Kendall Jenner have agreed to give their personalities to different chatbots.

During a big meeting, Meta’s boss, Mark Zuckerberg, talked about how the company is doing with AI and the metaverse. He talked about a new virtual reality headset, Quest 3, that can show augmented reality. But, even though Meta is putting a lot of money into the metaverse, the VR part of the company has lost $21 billion since 2022 started.

Original news source: Meta announces AI chatbots with ‘personality’ (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Write down vocabulary words related to the article on small pieces of paper and put them in a hat. One student from each team will come up and pick a word from the hat. They must act out the word without speaking, and their team must guess what word they are acting out. The team that guesses correctly gets a point.

– News Summary
Instructions: Have the students read the article individually or in pairs. Then, ask them to write a summary of the article in their own words. After they are finished, have them share their summaries with a partner or with the whole class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down vocabulary words from the article on the board. Divide the class into pairs or small groups. One student from each group will come up and choose a word. They must then draw a picture to represent the word, while their group tries to guess what word it is. The group that guesses correctly gets a point.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a copy of the article. Set a timer for a short amount of time (e.g. 2 minutes) and have the students take turns summarizing the article to their partner as quickly as possible. After the time is up, have them switch roles and summarize again. The pair that can summarize the article the fastest wins.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Ask the students to think about the following question: “What are some advantages and disadvantages of using chatbots with their own ‘personalities’?” Give them a few minutes to think about their answers. Then, have them pair up with a partner and share their thoughts. After they have discussed, ask a few pairs to share their ideas with the whole class.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What did Meta make for Messenger?
2. What is the name of the main chatbot?
3. Who are some famous people that are giving their personalities to the chatbots?
4. Who is the boss of Meta?
5. What did Mark Zuckerberg talk about in the meeting?
6. What is the name of the new virtual reality headset?
7. Has the VR part of Meta lost money this year?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Meta, a big tech company, has (1)______ new chatbots for its (2)______ service. These chatbots will have their own “personality” and know a lot about specific things. The main chatbot, named “Meta AI,” can be used for messaging and can (3)______ (4)______. Famous people like Snoop Dogg and Kendall Jenner have agreed to give their personalities to different (5)______.

During a big meeting, Meta’s boss, Mark Zuckerberg, talked about how the company is doing with AI and the metaverse. He talked about a new virtual (6)______ headset, (7)______ 3, that can show augmented reality. But, even though Meta is putting a lot of money into the metaverse, the VR part of the company has (8)______ $21 billion since 2022 started.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a chatbot?
2. How would you feel if you could talk to a chatbot that has a personality?
3. Do you like messaging with chatbots? Why or why not?
4. What is a virtual reality headset?
5. How would you feel if you could see augmented reality with a virtual reality headset?
6. Do you think it’s important for companies to invest in virtual reality? Why or why not?
7. What do you think about Meta losing $21 billion?
8. How would you feel if you were a famous person and your personality was used for a chatbot?
9. Do you think chatbots are helpful? Why or why not?
10. What is the metaverse?
11. How would you feel if you could explore the metaverse?
12. Do you think the metaverse is the future? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. chatbots
2. personality
3. specific
4. messaging
5. virtual reality
6. augmented reality
7. metaverse
8. headset

Meanings:
(a) Sending messages to someone through a computer or phone
(b) Adding things to the real world that aren’t really there
(c) A big digital world where you can do lots of things
(d) A fake world that you can see and interact with
(e) About one thing only, not everything
(f) The way someone acts and behaves
(g) Robots that can talk and have conversations
(h) Something you wear on your head to see virtual reality

Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What is the name of the main chatbot made by Meta?
(a) Meta Boss
(b) Snoop Dogg
(c) Kendall Jenner
(d) Meta AI

2. What can the chatbots do?
(a) Cook dinner
(b) Answer questions
(c) Play soccer
(d) Drive a car

3. Who gave their personality to the chatbots?
(a) Cats and dogs
(b) Famous people
(c) Aliens from Mars
(d) Robots

4. Who is the boss of Meta?
(a) Bill Gates
(b) Elon Musk
(c) Jeff Bezos
(d) Mark Zuckerberg

5. What did Mark Zuckerberg talk about in the meeting?
(a) AI and the metaverse
(b) His favorite food
(c) The weather
(d) Playing video games

6. What is the name of the new virtual reality headset made by Meta?
(a) Quest 3
(b) Meta VR
(c) Augmented Reality
(d) Kendall Jenner

7. How much money has the VR part of Meta lost since 2022 started?
(a) $100 million
(b) $5 billion
(c) $21 billion
(d) $1 trillion

8. What can the Quest 3 headset show?
(a) The future
(b) The past
(c) Augmented reality
(d) The moon

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Mark Zuckerberg mentioned an old virtual reality headset called Quest 3 that can show augmented reality.
2. Despite investing a lot of money into the metaverse, Meta’s VR part of the company has lost $21 billion since the start of 2022.
3. These chatbots have their own personalities and know a lot about specific things.
4. Meta’s boss, Mark Zuckerberg, talked about the company’s regress with AI and the metaverse in a big meeting.
5. Famous people like Snoop Dogg and Kendall Jenner have given their personalities to different chatbots.
6. The main chatbot, called Meta AI, cannot answer questions and be used for messaging.
7. The chatbots created by Meta will make messaging and getting answers easier for Messenger users.
8. A small tech company called Meta has created new chatbots for Messenger.
Go to answers ⇩

Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. What did Meta make for its Messenger service?
2. What can the main chatbot, Meta AI, do?
3. Who are some famous people that will give their personalities to the chatbots?
4. What did Mark Zuckerberg talk about during a big meeting?
5. How much money did the VR part of Meta lose since 2022 started?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Meta made new chatbots for Messenger.
2. The main chatbot is named “Meta AI.”
3. Famous people like Snoop Dogg and Kendall Jenner are giving their personalities to the chatbots.
4. The boss of Meta is Mark Zuckerberg.
5. Mark Zuckerberg talked about AI and the metaverse in the meeting.
6. The new virtual reality headset is called Quest 3.
7. Yes, the VR part of Meta has lost $21 billion since 2022 started.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) made
(2) Messenger
(3) answer
(4) questions
(5) chatbots
(6) reality
(7) Quest
(8) lost
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. chatbots
Answer: (g) Robots that can talk and have conversations

2. personality
Answer: (f) The way someone acts and behaves

3. specific
Answer: (e) About one thing only, not everything

4. messaging
Answer: (a) Sending messages to someone through a computer or phone

5. virtual reality
Answer: (d) A fake world that you can see and interact with

6. augmented reality
Answer: (b) Adding things to the real world that aren’t really there

7. metaverse
Answer: (c) A big digital world where you can do lots of things

8. headset
Answer: (h) Something you wear on your head to see virtual reality
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What is the name of the main chatbot made by Meta?
Answer: (d) Meta AI

2. What can the chatbots do?
Answer: (b) Answer questions

3. Who gave their personality to the chatbots?
Answer: (b) Famous people

4. Who is the boss of Meta?
Answer: (d) Mark Zuckerberg

5. What did Mark Zuckerberg talk about in the meeting?
Answer: (a) AI and the metaverse

6. What is the name of the new virtual reality headset made by Meta?
Answer: (a) Quest 3

7. How much money has the VR part of Meta lost since 2022 started?
Answer: (c) $21 billion

8. What can the Quest 3 headset show?
Answer: (c) Augmented reality
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Mark Zuckerberg mentioned an old virtual reality headset called Quest 3 that can show augmented reality. (Answer: False)
2. Despite investing a lot of money into the metaverse, Meta’s VR part of the company has lost $21 billion since the start of 2022. (Answer: True)
3. These chatbots have their own personalities and know a lot about specific things. (Answer: True)
4. Meta’s boss, Mark Zuckerberg, talked about the company’s regress with AI and the metaverse in a big meeting. (Answer: False)
5. Famous people like Snoop Dogg and Kendall Jenner have given their personalities to different chatbots. (Answer: True)
6. The main chatbot, called Meta AI, cannot answer questions and be used for messaging. (Answer: False)
7. The chatbots created by Meta will make messaging and getting answers easier for Messenger users. (Answer: True)
8. A small tech company called Meta has created new chatbots for Messenger. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧