B2 – Upper Intermediate
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to create more impact in almost all aspects of our society, it is crucial to sit down and discuss how the technology can be regulated in order to ensure that we can safely make use of it. However, it seems this task isn’t going to be a walk in the park.
Read this article about the key challenges in making AI safe.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65850668
Vocabulary Questions:
- What is a “school of thought”? “Artificial-intelligence experts generally follow one of two schools of thought – it will either improve our lives enormously or destroy us all.” Use this phrase in your own sentence.
- What does it mean when something “doesn’t sit (well) with/within”? “These technologies don’t sit within the boundaries of one country.” Use this idiom in your own sentence.
- Explain what the word “interim” mean. “She is drawing up an interim voluntary code for the sector, alongside the US, which could be ready within weeks.” Use this word in your own sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- Which among the key challenges to make AI safe mentioned in the article is the hardest one to address and why?
- Why do you think it is difficult to have international collaboration on AI?
- Do you agree that the public should be informed about the risks attached to each AI product? If so, how do we do that?
- Do you agree or disagree with this policy: “Companies that break its rules could be fined the greater of €30m or 6% of global annual turnover.”? Why or why not?
- What are some government regulations that we should have to mitigate the potential risks posed by AI products?
- AI “godfathers Geoffrey Hinton and Prof Yoshua Bengio warn that the technology has huge potential for harm. Do you believe them or not? Explain your point.