Hovhannes Avoyan, the person who created the popular app Picsart for editing pictures and videos, recently talked about artificial intelligence (AI) and how it affects jobs. Avoyan used to be a professor of AI in Armenia and he thinks that AI itself won’t take away jobs, but the way people use AI might affect employment.

Picsart is an app that uses AI to make photos and videos look better. It’s worth over $1 billion. Avoyan says that AI is a tool that can help industries and individuals, but it’s up to the people using it to decide how to use it.

Avoyan wants to reassure people that they shouldn’t be scared of AI. Instead, he wants them to accept it and learn how to use it well. He thinks that AI can be a great tool for being creative and coming up with new ideas, and it can make humans better instead of replacing them.

Even though AI can do some tasks automatically, Avoyan says that it’s our job to learn new skills and stay relevant in the job market. He suggests that we focus on skills that are unique to humans, like being creative, thinking critically, and understanding emotions. These are things that AI isn’t good at yet.

In conclusion, Avoyan thinks that AI won’t take away jobs, but the way people use AI might affect employment. He wants us to accept AI and use it to be creative and come up with new ideas. But he also wants us to learn new skills and keep up with changes in the job market.

Original news source: AI won’t steal your job, but people using it may’ (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students will read the article and then summarize the main points in their own words. They can take turns sharing their summaries with the class.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups and give each group a list of statements related to AI and job market. Students will discuss their opinions on each statement and then take a vote within their group. Afterward, each group will share their opinions and the results of their vote with the class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board. Students will take turns choosing a word and drawing a quick sketch to represent it. The rest of the class will try to guess the word based on the drawing. This activity helps reinforce vocabulary and comprehension of the article.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions: Divide the class into two groups. One group will discuss the pros of AI and its impact on jobs, while the other group will discuss the cons. Afterward, each group will present their arguments to the class and engage in a respectful debate.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: In pairs, students will discuss and make predictions about the future of AI and its impact on jobs. They should consider both positive and negative scenarios. Afterward, each pair will share their predictions with the class and discuss their reasoning.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Who is Hovhannes Avoyan and what is his connection to AI?
2. What is Picsart and how does it use AI?
3. According to Avoyan, who has the power to decide how AI affects employment?
4. How does Avoyan feel about AI? What does he want people to do?
5. Can AI completely replace humans in the workforce, according to Avoyan? Why or why not?
6. What skills does Avoyan believe are unique to humans and important for staying relevant in the job market?
7. What does Avoyan suggest people focus on in order to adapt to changes in the job market?
8. In summary, what is Avoyan’s opinion on the impact of AI on jobs and what does he want people to do about it?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Hovhannes Avoyan, the person who (1)______ the popular app (2)______ for (3)______ pictures and videos, recently talked about artificial intelligence (AI) and how it (4)______ jobs. Avoyan used to be a professor of AI in Armenia and he thinks that AI itself won’t take away jobs, but the way people use AI might affect employment.

Picsart is an app that uses AI to make (5)______ and videos look better. It’s (6)______ over $1 billion. Avoyan says that AI is a tool that can help industries and individuals, but it’s up to the people using it to (7)______ how to use it.

Avoyan wants to (8)______ people that they shouldn’t be scared of AI. Instead, he wants them to accept it and learn how to use it well. He thinks that AI can be a great tool for being creative and coming up with new ideas, and it can make (9)______ better instead of replacing them.

Even though AI can do some tasks automatically, (10)______ says that it’s our job to learn new (11)______ and stay relevant in the job market. He suggests that we focus on skills that are (12)______ to humans, like being creative, thinking critically, and understanding emotions. These are (13)______ that AI isn’t good at yet.

In conclusion, Avoyan (14)______ that AI won’t take away jobs, but the way people use AI might affect employment. He (15)______ us to accept AI and use it to be creative and come up with new (16)______. But he also wants us to learn new skills and keep up with changes in the job market.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is artificial intelligence (AI) and how do you think it affects our daily lives?
2. Do you think AI will replace human jobs in the future? Why or why not?
3. How would you feel if your job was taken over by AI? Why?
4. Do you think AI can be a helpful tool for creativity? Why or why not?
5. What skills do you think are unique to humans and cannot be replaced by AI?
6. How do you think AI can make humans better instead of replacing them?
7. Do you think it’s important for people to learn how to use AI? Why or why not?
8. What are some ways that AI can be used to benefit industries and individuals?
9. How can we stay relevant in the job market with the rise of AI?
10. Do you think it’s necessary for people to learn new skills in order to keep up with changes in the job market? Why or why not?
11. What are some examples of jobs that AI cannot do as well as humans? Why?
12. How do you think AI can impact the future of creativity and innovation?
13. Do you like using AI tools for editing photos and videos? Why or why not?
14. How do you think AI can help us come up with new ideas?
15. What are some potential risks or challenges that come with the increased use of AI in the job market? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. artificial
2. intelligence
3. employment
4. reassure
5. creative
6. automatically
7. relevant
8. skills
9. critical
10. understanding
11. emotions
12. conclusion
13. accept
14. changes
15. market

Meanings:
(A) The final part of something
(B) Happening or done without a person controlling it
(C) The ability to know and share the feelings of another
(D) The abilities that a person has, especially ones that can be learned
(E) The act or process of becoming different
(F) A place or area where goods are bought and sold
(G) To receive something willingly
(H) The ability to learn, understand, and make judgments or have opinions that are based on reason
(I) Strong feelings that come from one’s circumstances, mood, or relationships with others
(J) Made by humans, not natural
(K) To make someone feel less worried
(L) Closely connected or appropriate to what is being done or considered
(M) Having the ability to come up with new and original ideas
(N) The condition of having a job
(O) Carefully examining the facts to form an opinion
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Who created the app Picsart?
(a) Mark Zuckerberg
(b) Bill Gates
(c) Steve Jobs
(d) Hovhannes Avoyan

2. What is the main purpose of AI in Picsart?
(a) To create new ideas
(b) To replace humans in the job market
(c) To make photos and videos look better
(d) To scare people

3. How much is Picsart worth?
(a) Over $1 billion
(b) Over $100 million
(c) Over $10 billion
(d) Over $1 trillion

4. According to Avoyan, should people be scared of AI?
(a) Yes, they should
(b) No, they shouldn’t
(c) It depends on the person
(d) AI is not mentioned in the article

5. What does Avoyan suggest people focus on to stay relevant in the job market?
(a) Skills that are unique to AI
(b) Skills that are unique to animals
(c) Skills that are unique to humans
(d) Skills that are unique to robots

6. What are some skills that Avoyan mentions as unique to humans?
(a) Being able to code, solve complex math problems, and analyze data
(b) Being creative, thinking critically, and understanding emotions
(c) Being able to speak multiple languages, write well, and give presentations
(d) Being able to play musical instruments, paint, and dance

7. What does Avoyan believe AI can do for humans?
(a) Take away their jobs
(b) Make them scared
(c) Make them less creative
(d) Make them better instead of replacing them

8. What is Avoyan’s overall message about AI?
(a) It won’t take away jobs, but the way people use it might affect employment
(b) It will replace humans in the job market completely
(c) It is a tool that should be avoided
(d) It is not mentioned in the article

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. AI can be a tool for creativity and generating new ideas.
2. Avoyan is not a former professor of AI in Armenia.
3. Avoyan suggests focusing on skills that AI is good at already, such as creativity, critical thinking, and understanding emotions.
4. Hovhannes Avoyan created an app called Picsart for editing pictures and videos.
5. Avoyan does not want people to accept and learn how to use AI.
6. Avoyan believes that AI itself won’t take away jobs.
7. Picsart is not worth over $1 billion.
8. The way people use AI can affect employment.
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 is Picsart and how does it use AI?
2. According to Hovhannes Avoyan, will AI take away jobs? Why or why not?
3. What does Avoyan suggest people do in order to stay relevant in the job market?
4. What are some skills that Avoyan believes are unique to humans and that AI is not good at?
5. What is Avoyan’s overall message about AI and its impact on employment?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Hovhannes Avoyan is the creator of the app Picsart and used to be a professor of AI in Armenia.
2. Picsart is an app that uses AI to improve the quality of photos and videos.
3. According to Avoyan, it is the people using AI who have the power to decide how it affects employment.
4. Avoyan feels positive about AI and wants people to accept it and learn how to use it effectively.
5. No, according to Avoyan, AI cannot completely replace humans in the workforce because there are certain skills that AI is not yet good at.
6. Avoyan believes that skills like creativity, critical thinking, and understanding emotions are unique to humans and important for staying relevant in the job market.
7. Avoyan suggests that people focus on learning new skills and keeping up with changes in the job market.
8. Avoyan believes that AI won’t take away jobs, but the way people use AI can affect employment. He wants people to accept AI, use it to be creative, and learn new skills to stay relevant in the job market.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) created
(2) Picsart
(3) editing
(4) affects
(5) photos
(6) worth
(7) decide
(8) reassure
(9) humans
(10) Avoyan
(11) skills
(12) unique
(13) things
(14) thinks
(15) wants
(16) ideas
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. artificial
Answer: (J) Made by humans, not natural

2. intelligence
Answer: (H) The ability to learn, understand, and make judgments or have opinions that are based on reason

3. employment
Answer: (N) The condition of having a job

4. reassure
Answer: (K) To make someone feel less worried

5. creative
Answer: (M) Having the ability to come up with new and original ideas

6. automatically
Answer: (B) Happening or done without a person controlling it

7. relevant
Answer: (L) Closely connected or appropriate to what is being done or considered

8. skills
Answer: (D) The abilities that a person has, especially ones that can be learned

9. critical
Answer: (O) Carefully examining the facts to form an opinion

10. understanding
Answer: (C) The ability to know and share the feelings of another

11. emotions
Answer: (I) Strong feelings that come from one’s circumstances, mood, or relationships with others

12. conclusion
Answer: (A) The final part of something

13. accept
Answer: (G) To receive something willingly

14. changes
Answer: (E) The act or process of becoming different

15. market
Answer: (F) A place or area where goods are bought and sold
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Who created the app Picsart?
Answer: (d) Hovhannes Avoyan

2. What is the main purpose of AI in Picsart?
Answer: (c) To make photos and videos look better

3. How much is Picsart worth?
Answer: (a) Over $1 billion

4. According to Avoyan, should people be scared of AI?
Answer: (b) No, they shouldn’t

5. What does Avoyan suggest people focus on to stay relevant in the job market?
Answer: (c) Skills that are unique to humans

6. What are some skills that Avoyan mentions as unique to humans?
Answer: (b) Being creative, thinking critically, and understanding emotions

7. What does Avoyan believe AI can do for humans?
Answer: (d) Make them better instead of replacing them

8. What is Avoyan’s overall message about AI?
Answer: (a) It won’t take away jobs, but the way people use it might affect employment
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. AI can be a tool for creativity and generating new ideas. (Answer: True)
2. Avoyan is not a former professor of AI in Armenia. (Answer: False)
3. Avoyan suggests focusing on skills that AI is good at already, such as creativity, critical thinking, and understanding emotions. (Answer: False)
4. Hovhannes Avoyan created an app called Picsart for editing pictures and videos. (Answer: True)
5. Avoyan does not want people to accept and learn how to use AI. (Answer: False)
6. Avoyan believes that AI itself won’t take away jobs. (Answer: True)
7. Picsart is not worth over $1 billion. (Answer: False)
8. The way people use AI can affect employment. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧