The boss of Google in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Matt Brittin, says that Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is very important. He believes that AI can make big changes in many areas like healthcare, robots, and climate change. Google is working with the University of Cambridge to create a new place for studying AI. This is happening before a big meeting in the UK about how to keep AI safe.
Zoubin Ghahramani, a top researcher at Google and a professor at Cambridge University, thinks that the new AI center can help solve problems with the climate. AI has already been used to make airplane routes better and reduce harmful trails in the sky. Google has been trying to use less energy for a long time, especially in its data centers. The company wants to use almost all clean energy in the UK by 2025.
However, some people are worried about how AI can hurt the environment. They think that the fast growth of AI could use a lot of energy, like a whole country such as the Netherlands. These people believe that AI should only be used when it is really needed to avoid harming the environment. This shows that it is important to develop AI in a way that is good for the environment.
Original news source: Google boss: AI too important not to get right (BBC)
Listen
Slow
Normal
Fast
Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
2. Have each group read the article together.
3. Instruct each group to write a summary of the article in their own words.
4. After a designated amount of time, have each group share their summary with the class.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
2. Have each group discuss their thoughts and opinions about AI technology based on the information in the article.
3. Provide a list of questions related to AI and the environment for the groups to answer.
4. After a designated amount of time, have each group present their answers to the class and facilitate a class discussion.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Write a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board.
2. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
3. Assign each group a word from the list.
4. Instruct each group to draw a picture that represents the word and have the rest of the class guess what the word is.
5. After all the words have been guessed, review the definitions and meanings of each word as a class.
– Keyword Hangman
Instructions:
1. Choose key words from the article and write blanks for each letter on the board.
2. Divide the class into two teams.
3. Have one student from each team come to the board and take turns guessing letters to fill in the blanks.
4. If a student guesses a correct letter, write it in the appropriate blank. If they guess a wrong letter, start drawing a hangman.
5. The first team to successfully guess the keyword wins the round.
6. Repeat with different keywords from the article.
– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions:
1. Read the article aloud to the class.
2. Ask the students to think silently for a moment about their opinions on AI technology and its impact on the environment.
3. Have the students pair up and discuss their thoughts with their partner.
4. After a few minutes, bring the class back together and ask a few students to share their thoughts with the whole class.
5. Facilitate a class discussion based on the shared opinions.
Comprehension Questions:
1. Who is the boss of Google in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa?
2. What does Matt Brittin believe AI can do?
3. Who is Google working with to create a new place for studying AI?
4. How has AI already been used to help with airplane routes?
5. What is Google’s goal for using energy in the UK by 2025?
6. Why are some people worried about AI and the environment?
7. Why is it important to develop AI in a way that is good for the environment?
Go to answers ⇩
Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
The boss of Google in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Matt Brittin, says that Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is very important. He (1)______ that AI can make big (2)______ in many areas like healthcare, robots, and climate change. Google is working with the University of (3)______ to create a new place for studying AI. This is happening before a big (4)______ in the UK about how to keep AI safe.
(5)______ Ghahramani, a top researcher at Google and a (6)______ at Cambridge University, thinks that the new AI center can help solve problems with the climate. AI has already been used to make airplane routes better and reduce harmful trails in the sky. (7)______ has been trying to use less energy for a long time, especially in its data centers. The company wants to use almost all (8)______ energy in the UK by 2025.
However, some (9)______ are worried about how AI can hurt the environment. They think that the fast growth of AI could use a lot of energy, like a whole country (10)______ as the Netherlands. These people believe that AI should only be used when it is really (11)______ to avoid harming the environment. This shows that it is (12)______ to develop AI in a way that is good for the environment.
Go to answers ⇩
Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
2. How do you think AI can make big changes in healthcare?
3. Do you like robots? Why or why not?
4. How would you feel if AI technology was used to solve problems with climate change?
5. What are some ways that AI has already been used to help the environment?
6. Do you think it’s important for Google to use clean energy? Why or why not?
7. How do you think AI could use a lot of energy?
8. What are some ways that AI could harm the environment?
9. How can we develop AI in a way that is good for the environment?
10. Do you think it’s important for AI to only be used when it is really needed? Why or why not?
11. How do you think AI can help solve problems in our everyday lives?
12. What are some other areas besides healthcare and climate change where AI could make big changes?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
2. technology
3. changes
4. healthcare
5. robots
6. climate change
7. studying
8. safe
Meanings:
(a) Learning about a subject in school
(b) The Earth getting hotter and causing problems
(c) Not dangerous or harmful
(d) A smart computer program that can think
(e) Tools and machines that help us do things
(f) Taking care of people’s health
(g) Making things different
(h) Machines that can do tasks on their own
Go to answers ⇩
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Who is the boss of Google in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa?
(a) Zoubin Ghahramani
(b) Mark Zuckerberg
(c) Sundar Pichai
(d) Matt Brittin
2. What does Matt Brittin think about AI technology?
(a) It is very important
(b) It is not important
(c) It is dangerous
(d) It is unnecessary
3. What is Google working on with the University of Cambridge?
(a) Building a new data center
(b) Developing new robots
(c) Creating a new place for studying AI
(d) Solving climate change
4. How has AI technology been used to help the environment?
(a) Making airplane routes better and reducing harmful trails in the sky
(b) Creating more energy consumption
(c) Harming the environment
(d) None of the above
5. What is Google’s goal for clean energy in the UK by 2025?
(a) Using no clean energy
(b) Using only renewable energy
(c) Using more energy than before
(d) Using almost all clean energy
6. What are some people worried about regarding AI and the environment?
(a) AI not being used when needed
(b) The fast growth of AI using a lot of energy
(c) AI being too expensive
(d) AI being harmful to humans
7. Why is it important to develop AI in a way that is good for the environment?
(a) To make more money
(b) To avoid harming the environment
(c) To make AI more powerful
(d) To make AI more popular
8. What is the main focus of the article?
(a) The dangers of AI technology
(b) The benefits of AI technology
(c) The importance of AI technology
(d) The history of AI technology
Go to answers ⇩
True or False Questions:
1. Google wants to use almost all dirty energy in the UK by 2025.
2. The boss of Google in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa thinks that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is very important and can make big changes in areas like healthcare, robots, and climate change.
3. Google is working with the University of Cambridge to create a new place for studying AI.
4. The new AI center at Cambridge University cannot help solve problems with the climate.
5. AI has already been used to make airplane routes better and reduce harmful trails in the sky.
6. Some people are worried that the fast growth of AI could use a lot of energy, like a whole country such as the Netherlands.
7. It is not important to develop AI in a way that is good for the environment.
8. These people believe that AI should only be used when it is not really needed to avoid harming the environment.
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. Why does Matt Brittin think that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is important?
2. Who is Google working with to create a new place for studying AI?
3. How has AI been used to help with airplane routes?
4. What is Google’s goal for using energy in the UK by 2025?
5. Why are some people worried about the growth of AI and its impact on the environment?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. Who is the boss of Google in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa?
The boss of Google in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa is Matt Brittin.
2. What does Matt Brittin believe AI can do?
Matt Brittin believes that AI can make big changes in many areas like healthcare, robots, and climate change.
3. Who is Google working with to create a new place for studying AI?
Google is working with the University of Cambridge to create a new place for studying AI.
4. How has AI already been used to help with airplane routes?
AI has been used to make airplane routes better and reduce harmful trails in the sky.
5. What is Google’s goal for using energy in the UK by 2025?
Google’s goal is to use almost all clean energy in the UK by 2025.
6. Why are some people worried about AI and the environment?
Some people are worried that the fast growth of AI could use a lot of energy, like a whole country such as the Netherlands.
7. Why is it important to develop AI in a way that is good for the environment?
It is important to develop AI in a way that is good for the environment because we want to avoid harming the environment and use AI only when it is really needed.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
(1) believes
(2) changes
(3) Cambridge
(4) meeting
(5) Zoubin
(6) professor
(7) Google
(8) clean
(9) people
(10) such
(11) needed
(12) important
Go back to questions ⇧
Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Answer: (d) A smart computer program that can think
2. technology
Answer: (e) Tools and machines that help us do things
3. changes
Answer: (g) Making things different
4. healthcare
Answer: (f) Taking care of people’s health
5. robots
Answer: (h) Machines that can do tasks on their own
6. climate change
Answer: (b) The Earth getting hotter and causing problems
7. studying
Answer: (a) Learning about a subject in school
8. safe
Answer: (c) Not dangerous or harmful
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. Who is the boss of Google in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa?
Answer: (d) Matt Brittin
2. What does Matt Brittin think about AI technology?
Answer: (a) It is very important
3. What is Google working on with the University of Cambridge?
Answer: (c) Creating a new place for studying AI
4. How has AI technology been used to help the environment?
Answer: (a) Making airplane routes better and reducing harmful trails in the sky
5. What is Google’s goal for clean energy in the UK by 2025?
Answer: (d) Using almost all clean energy
6. What are some people worried about regarding AI and the environment?
Answer: (b) The fast growth of AI using a lot of energy
7. Why is it important to develop AI in a way that is good for the environment?
Answer: (b) To avoid harming the environment
8. What is the main focus of the article?
Answer: (c) The importance of AI technology
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. Google wants to use almost all dirty energy in the UK by 2025. (Answer: False)
2. The boss of Google in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa thinks that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is very important and can make big changes in areas like healthcare, robots, and climate change. (Answer: True)
3. Google is working with the University of Cambridge to create a new place for studying AI. (Answer: True)
4. The new AI center at Cambridge University cannot help solve problems with the climate. (Answer: False)
5. AI has already been used to make airplane routes better and reduce harmful trails in the sky. (Answer: True)
6. Some people are worried that the fast growth of AI could use a lot of energy, like a whole country such as the Netherlands. (Answer: True)
7. It is not important to develop AI in a way that is good for the environment. (Answer: False)
8. These people believe that AI should only be used when it is not really needed to avoid harming the environment. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧
