Elon Musk, a famous inventor, talked about robots and artificial intelligence (AI) at a special event. He said that AI might make work unnecessary in the future. He also worried about robots that could follow people everywhere. Musk has used AI in his electric cars, but he is also worried about how AI might change society.
The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, agreed with Musk that we need someone to watch over powerful computers in the future. They talked about how AI could be good, like helping lonely people make friends or helping kids learn. But Musk also said that AI could change things a lot, maybe even making normal jobs disappear. The event was only for special guests from the technology world, and no TV cameras were allowed.
Even though they didn’t make any new announcements about AI in the UK, Sunak did talk about using AI to make the government’s website better. Musk had said some negative things about the event earlier, but he and Sunak seemed to get along well. Sunak even said that Musk was a great inventor and technology expert. Both of them want to help decide how AI will be used in the future.
Original news source: Elon Musk tells Rishi Sunak AI will put an end to work (BBC)
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Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– News Summary
Instructions: Students will be given the article and asked to summarize it in their own words. They should aim to capture the main points in just a few sentences. After completing their summaries, students will share them with the class to see how each person understood the article differently.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions: The teacher will write a statement on the board, such as “AI will make work unnecessary in the future.” Students will then have to stand on a line in the classroom that represents a scale from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree.” Afterward, students will discuss their positions in small groups and provide reasons for their opinions.
– Keyword Hangman
Instructions: The teacher will play a game of hangman with the class using keywords from the article, such as “robots,” “artificial intelligence,” “inventor,” “government,” and “technology.” This will help students remember key vocabulary from the text.
– Future Predictions
Instructions: Students will work in pairs to discuss and write down their predictions about the future of AI and technology based on the article. They will then share their predictions with the class, and the class will vote on which predictions they think are most likely to come true.
– Role-play: News Reporter
Instructions: Students will pair up and take on the roles of a news reporter and a technology expert. They will role-play an interview about the topics discussed in the article, with one student asking questions and the other providing answers based on information from the text. This will give them practice in speaking, listening, and using the article’s vocabulary in context.
Comprehension Questions:
1. What did Elon Musk say about how artificial intelligence might change work in the future?
2. What is Elon Musk worried about regarding robots?
3. Where has Elon Musk used artificial intelligence before?
4. What does Rishi Sunak think we need to do with powerful computers in the future?
5. What are some good things that Elon Musk said AI could help with?
6. Were TV cameras allowed at the special event about AI and robots?
7. What did Rishi Sunak say about Elon Musk at the event?
Go to answers ⇩
Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
Elon Musk, a (1)______ inventor, talked about robots and artificial intelligence (AI) at a (2)______ event. He said that AI might make work unnecessary in the future. He also worried about robots that could follow people everywhere. Musk has used AI in his (3)______ cars, but he is also worried about how AI might change society.
The Prime (4)______, Rishi Sunak, agreed with Musk that we need someone to watch over powerful (5)______ in the future. They talked about how AI could be good, like helping lonely people (6)______ friends or helping kids learn. But Musk also said that AI could change (7)______ a lot, maybe even making normal jobs disappear. The event was only for special guests from the (8)______ world, and no TV (9)______ were allowed.
Even though they didn’t make any new announcements about AI in the UK, Sunak did talk about using AI to make the government’s website better. Musk had said some negative things about the event earlier, but he and Sunak (10)______ to get along well. Sunak even said that Musk was a great inventor and technology expert. Both of them (11)______ to (12)______ decide how AI will be used in the future.
Go to answers ⇩
Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. What is a robot?
2. How would you feel if a robot could do your homework?
3. Do you like the idea of having a robot friend? Why or why not?
4. Do you think robots should be allowed to follow people everywhere? Why?
5. What kind of job would you want a robot to do for you?
6. How do you think you would make friends if you were lonely and had a robot to help you?
7. Do you think it’s good for computers to be very powerful? Why or why not?
8. What is something you would like to learn with the help of a computer?
9. If your job disappeared because of robots, what new job would you want to do?
10. Do you think it’s important for someone to watch over how computers and robots are used? Why?
11. Would you like to make decisions about how robots are used in the future? What would you decide?
12. Do you think inventors like Elon Musk are important? Why do you think that?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. inventor
2. robots
3. artificial intelligence (AI)
4. future
5. society
6. computers
7. announcements
8. technology
Meanings:
(a) Machines that can do calculations and store information
(b) The use of science to create useful things
(c) Someone who creates new things or ideas
(d) The time that will come after now
(e) The people and the way they live together
(f) Smart machines that can think and learn
(g) Machines that can do tasks on their own
(h) Public statements about important news
Go to answers ⇩
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Who talked about robots and artificial intelligence (AI) at a special event?
(a) Rishi Sunak
(b) Elon Musk
(c) The Prime Minister
(d) A famous inventor
2. What did Elon Musk say AI might make unnecessary in the future?
(a) Work
(b) Robots
(c) Electric cars
(d) Special events
3. What did Elon Musk worry about in relation to robots?
(a) They could make friends for lonely people
(b) They could help kids learn
(c) They could follow people everywhere
(d) They could change society
4. Who agreed with Elon Musk that we need someone to watch over powerful computers in the future?
(a) The Prime Minister
(b) A famous inventor
(c) Rishi Sunak
(d) A special guest
5. What did Elon Musk say AI could be good for?
(a) Helping lonely people make friends
(b) Making the government’s website better
(c) Making normal jobs disappear
(d) None of the above
6. What did Rishi Sunak talk about using AI for in the UK?
(a) Making normal jobs disappear
(b) Helping lonely people make friends
(c) None of the above
(d) Making the government’s website better
7. How did Elon Musk and Rishi Sunak get along at the event?
(a) Badly
(b) They didn’t talk to each other
(c) None of the above
(d) Well
8. What do Elon Musk and Rishi Sunak want to help decide?
(a) How robots will be used in the future
(b) How AI will be used in the future
(c) How electric cars will be used in the future
(d) How the government’s website will be used in the future
Go to answers ⇩
True or False Questions:
1. Musk expressed enthusiasm that AI could potentially make work unnecessary in the future.
2. He also worried about the possibility of robots following people everywhere.
3. Musk suggested that AI could slightly alter various aspects of life, potentially leading to the appearance of regular jobs.
4. Musk has not utilized AI in his electric cars, but he is also concerned about how it might impact society.
5. The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, agreed with Musk’s view that we need someone to oversee powerful computers in the future.
6. They discussed the negative aspects of AI, such as isolating lonely people even more and hindering children’s learning.
7. The event was exclusively for special guests from the technology world, and no television cameras were allowed.
8. Elon Musk, a famous inventor, recently spoke about robots and artificial intelligence (AI) at a special event.
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 Elon Musk say about robots and artificial intelligence (AI) at the special event?
2. What does Elon Musk think AI might do to jobs in the future?
3. Who is Rishi Sunak and what did he agree with Elon Musk about?
4. What are some good things that AI could help with, according to the article?
5. Did Elon Musk and Rishi Sunak make any new announcements about AI during the event?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. What did Elon Musk say about how artificial intelligence might change work in the future?
Elon Musk said that artificial intelligence might make it so we don’t need to work in the future.
2. What is Elon Musk worried about regarding robots?
Elon Musk is worried that robots might be able to follow people everywhere.
3. Where has Elon Musk used artificial intelligence before?
Elon Musk has used artificial intelligence in his electric cars.
4. What does Rishi Sunak think we need to do with powerful computers in the future?
Rishi Sunak thinks we need someone to watch over powerful computers in the future.
5. What are some good things that Elon Musk said AI could help with?
Elon Musk said AI could help lonely people make friends and help kids learn.
6. Were TV cameras allowed at the special event about AI and robots?
No, TV cameras were not allowed at the event.
7. What did Rishi Sunak say about Elon Musk at the event?
Rishi Sunak said that Elon Musk was a great inventor and technology expert.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
(1) famous
(2) special
(3) electric
(4) Minister
(5) computers
(6) make
(7) things
(8) technology
(9) cameras
(10) seemed
(11) want
(12) help
Go back to questions ⇧
Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. inventor
Answer: (c) Someone who creates new things or ideas
2. robots
Answer: (g) Machines that can do tasks on their own
3. artificial intelligence (AI)
Answer: (f) Smart machines that can think and learn
4. future
Answer: (d) The time that will come after now
5. society
Answer: (e) The people and the way they live together
6. computers
Answer: (a) Machines that can do calculations and store information
7. announcements
Answer: (h) Public statements about important news
8. technology
Answer: (b) The use of science to create useful things
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. Who talked about robots and artificial intelligence (AI) at a special event?
Answer: (b) Elon Musk
2. What did Elon Musk say AI might make unnecessary in the future?
Answer: (a) Work
3. What did Elon Musk worry about in relation to robots?
Answer: (c) They could follow people everywhere
4. Who agreed with Elon Musk that we need someone to watch over powerful computers in the future?
Answer: (c) Rishi Sunak
5. What did Elon Musk say AI could be good for?
Answer: (a) Helping lonely people make friends
6. What did Rishi Sunak talk about using AI for in the UK?
Answer: (d) Making the government’s website better
7. How did Elon Musk and Rishi Sunak get along at the event?
Answer: (d) Well
8. What do Elon Musk and Rishi Sunak want to help decide?
Answer: (b) How AI will be used in the future
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. Musk expressed enthusiasm that AI could potentially make work unnecessary in the future. (Answer: False)
2. He also worried about the possibility of robots following people everywhere. (Answer: True)
3. Musk suggested that AI could slightly alter various aspects of life, potentially leading to the appearance of regular jobs. (Answer: False)
4. Musk has not utilized AI in his electric cars, but he is also concerned about how it might impact society. (Answer: False)
5. The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, agreed with Musk’s view that we need someone to oversee powerful computers in the future. (Answer: True)
6. They discussed the negative aspects of AI, such as isolating lonely people even more and hindering children’s learning. (Answer: False)
7. The event was exclusively for special guests from the technology world, and no television cameras were allowed. (Answer: True)
8. Elon Musk, a famous inventor, recently spoke about robots and artificial intelligence (AI) at a special event. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧
