ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

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A. ROY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WORD CLOUD Examine this wordcloud about artificial intelligence. You should know most of the terms below.

describe yourself as a techie? Among your group of friends, are you usually the first or the last one to adopt a new technology?

the way people work? c) Do you already use simple forms of artificial intelligence? d) Would you like to have a robot or a digital personal assistant?

g) Have you seen movies about artificial intelligence? Discuss what you thought of them. Do you think they reflect what our future might look like?

1 A. ROY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WORD CLOUD Examine this wordcloud about artificial intelligence. You should know most of the terms below. Circle the few words you don t understand and look them up in a dictionary: I/ INTRODUCING THE TOPIC Think about the following questions: a) Would you describe yourself as a techie? Among your group of friends, are you usually the first or the last one to adopt a new technology? b) In your field of studies (geography, history, archaeology, economics, visual arts and history of arts, philosophy etc), is technological progress changing the way people work? c) Do you already use simple forms of artificial intelligence? d) Would you like to have a robot or a digital personal assistant? What would it do? e) Do you believe that machines can behave like humans? Why or why not? f) What traits do you think humans have that machines do not? g) Have you seen movies about artificial intelligence? Discuss what you thought of them. Do you think they reflect what our future might look like? II/ VISUAL DOCUMENTS Compare and contrast the two pictures below. Picture one is a film still from Ex_Machina, staring Alicia Vikander. Picture two is a photograph of Osaka University professor Hiroshi Ishiguro and his robot double.

ARTICLE The ethics of artificial intelligence The Japan Times, Editorial, February 4, 2015 1 As the Internet and digital systems penetrate further each day into our daily lives, concerns about

2 ARTICLE The ethics of artificial intelligence The Japan Times, Editorial, February 4, As the Internet and digital systems penetrate further each day into our daily lives, concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) are intensifying. It is difficult to get exercised about connections between the Internet of Things and AI when the most visible indications are Siri (Apple s digital assistant), Google translate and smart houses, but a growing number of people, including many with a reputation for peering over the horizon, are worried. Photograph: Blutgruppe/ Blutgruppe/Corbis 2 These questions have been with us for a long time: Alan Turing in 1950 asked whether machines could think and that same year writer Isaac Asimov contemplated what might happen if they could in I, Robot. About 30 years ago, James Cameron served up one dystopia created by AI in The Terminator. Science fiction became fact in 1997 when IBM s chess-playing Deep Blue computer beat world champion Garry Kasparov. 3 None of the darker visions have deterred researchers and entrepreneurs from pursuing the field. Reality has lagged those grim imaginings: It is hard to fear AI when the simplest demonstrations are more humorous than hair-raising. 4 Recently, however, there has been a growing chorus of concern about the potential for AI. It began last year when inventor Elon Musk, a man who spends considerable time on the cutting edge of technology, warned that with AI we are summoning the demon. For him, AI is an existential threat to humanity, more dangerous than nuclear weapons. 5 A month later, distinguished scientist Stephen Hawking told the BBC that he feared that the development of full artificial intelligence could bring an end to the human race. Not today, of course, but over time, machines could become both more intelligent and physically stronger than human beings. Then, Microsoft founder Bill Gates joined the group, saying that he did not understand people who were not troubled by the prospect of AI escaping human control. 6 Researchers most deeply engaged in this work are more confident. The head of Microsoft Research dismissed Gates concern, saying he does not think that humankind will lose control of certain kinds of intelligences. He instead is focused on ways that AI will increase human productivity and better lives. The prevailing

3 view among software engineers, who are writing the programs that make AI possible, is that they remain in control of what they program. Today, scientists and researchers are solving engineering problems. The prospect of machines that can learn is a distant future. 7 Nevertheless, a debate about prospects and possibilities is worthwhile. It is critical that those individuals on the front lines of research be thinking about the implications of their work. And since their focus tends to be on narrowly defined problems, others who can address larger issues should join the discussion. This process should be occurring for all such technologies, whether atomic energy or nanotechnology. We must not be blinded by science, nor held captive by unfounded or fantastic fears. 8 Even if true AI is a far-off prospect, ethical issues are emerging. Major auto manufacturers are experimenting with driverless cars. Drones are insinuating themselves into daily life, as are robots. The possibilities created by big data are driving increasing automation and in some cases AI in the office environment. 9 Militaries are among the intense users of high-technology, and the adoption of that equipment has transformed decision making throughout the chain of command. Some ethicists are concerned about the removal of human beings from the act of killing and from war. Legal and administrative frameworks to deal with the proliferation of these technologies and AI have not kept pace with their application. Ethical questions are often not even part of the discussion. 10 Google has set up an ethics committee to examine the implications of AI and its potential uses. But we cannot leave such examinations to the whims of the marketplace nor the cost-benefit calculations of a given quarter. There must be cross-disciplinary assessments to guarantee that a range of views are included in discussions. Most significantly, there must be a way to ensure that these conversations are not dominated by those who have a stake in the expansion of AI. 11 Many working in this field dismiss the critics as fear mongers, or anticipating distant futures that may never materialize. That is no excuse for not being aware of the risks and working to ensure that boundaries are set, not just for research but for the application of that work. As always, the scientific communities must be alert to the dangers and working to instill cultures of safety and ethics. We need to be genuinely intelligent about how humankind anticipates artificial intelligence. PRONUNCIATION / DIFFICULT WORD / CULTURAL REFERENCE / WORD NOT TO BE CONFUSED

4 III / READING COMPREHENSION 1) OVERALL COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS Anwer the following questions in your own words : a) After reading the article, how would you characterize the author s overall vision of artificial intelligence and technological progress? b) What are the various positive and negative comments made about AI in the newspaper s editorial? Briefly list them: NEGATIVE CHANGES POSITIVE CHANGES CULTURAL SOCIAL ECONOMIC 2) DETAILED COMPREHENSION a) How do you understand the following phrase: Reality has lagged those grim imaginings? Do you think it is true? b) What are the ethical issues which are emerging with the development of AI? Can you think of other examples? IV / VOCABULARY 1) SEMANTIC FIELD Find in the text as many words as possible related to the semantic field of TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCE and ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (nouns, verbs, adjectives, synonyms, idioms etc):

5 2) WORD-MATCH Match the following words (highlighted grey) from the text (LIST A) to their synonyms in list B. Some words in list B are odd-one-outs and should not be matched: LIST B LIST A a) Peering b) Lagged c) Cutting-edge d) Dismissed e) Prevailing f) Assessment 1) SYNONYMS Find in the text a synonym for the following words or partnerships: 1-6 Discouraged: Cautioned: Menace: 7-11 Remote possibility: Advanced at the same rhythm: Caprice, fad: Limits: 3) DEFINITIONS Give a definition for the following words or expressions: Dystopia: Fear mongers: V/ FOLLOW-UP 1) Evaluation 2) Looking closely 3) Avant-garde 4) Rejected 5) Fearing 6) Remained behind 7) Predictable 8) Predominant 9) Accessed the internet 1) QUESTIONS FOR DEBATE Think about the following issues. Discuss about them in pairs/with the class: The journalist contends that scientific communities must be alert to the dangers and working to instill cultures of safety and ethics. Do you have the feeling that it is usually the case with new developments in science and technology? Do you also believe that AI is an existential threat to humanity.

6 VI/ WRITING EXERCISES To practice your written English, hand in a 150-word written work based on one of he following assignments: Watch a movie about artificial intelligence, such as the Matrix and Terminator, 2001: A Space Odyssey, WarGames, Blade Runner, Wall E, or, of course, AI. Write a review of the movie (or one key scene) centered on the plausibility of the featured artificial intelligence form could it really exist? Why or why not? Do you fear or welcome the possibility of superior machine intelligence, known as the Singularity? Do you think development on artificial intellects should proceed speedily, with caution or not at all? TO GO FURTHER Here is a list of sites and books that deal with the same issue: BOOKS Hawking, Stephen (1998), Science in the Next Millennium: Remarks by Stephen Hawking Kurzweil, Raymond (2001), "The Law of Accelerating Returns", Nature Physics (Lifeboat Foundation TED TALKS & TV DOCUMENTARIES Ray Kurzweil: A university for the coming singularity The singularity is coming -- are you ready Dr. Jonathan White TEDxEdmonton WEBSITES ARTICLES ABOUT AI :

What We Talk About When We Talk About AI

MAGAZINE What We Talk About When We Talk About AI ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY 30 OCT 2015 W e have all seen the films, read the comics or been awed by the prophetic books, and from them we think