From Fiction......
Recap
The picture
1) The setting is composed of lots of glass panels, transparent walls. It looks like a corridor.
With the artificial light , I am under the impression that the character is in a lab environment.
2) The character is beautiful and is looking at faces sticking out of a wall.
She is not smiling.
She is dressed/clad in a suit made of mesh fabric.
On her neck, she seems to have transistors or whatever it is that makes her look like a robot.
The interpretation
1) What strikes me (the) most is the cold and dark environment, something feels wrong.
It looks as if she were imprisonned. Perhaps, she is dangerous.
2) Her face looks human but her attitude is threatening. Despite her beauty, she gives off (= dégager) a dangerous vibe.(= onde – vibration – impression)
Her metallic suit gives the impression that she is very strong.
The blue transistors/chips on her neck makes her look like a robot.
I wonder if / whether (= se demander si) she is a woman or a machine.
Word Bank
Expressions to express your feelings
1) Cela ressemble à …= It looks like
2) j’ai l’impression que…………= I am under the impression that
3) elle semble avoir…= she seems to have
4) Elle ressemble à …= she look like
5) A quoi ressemble t’elle ? = What does she look like?
6) Ce qui me frappe le plus, c’est…= What strikes me (the) most is
7) On dirait qu’elle est emprisonnée = It looks as if she were imprisonned
8) cela donne l’impression que….= it gives the impression that
9) faire ressembler quelque chose / quelqu’un à = to make st / sb look like
10) Je me demande si ……. = I wonder if / whether
Let's discuss: Why is sci-fi appreciated by so many people ?
.....to Reality
Who is Sophia ? She is the latest and greatest robot from Hanson Robotics.
What is the tone of the voice like ? She is very polite and she uses complex sentences to introduce herself.
How do you feel when you hear Sophia introducing herself ? Surprised / surprising – amazed / amazing – shock – astonished – astounded – dumfounded – flabbergasted – taken by surprise
we wonder if she is not a real person
Why is she excited ? Because the audience is deeply interested in investing in Sophia’s development.
Are robots expected to answer philosophical questions ? No
Do you expect robots to be self- aware ? No
« Self-awareness is the ability to focus on yourself and how your actions, thoughts, or emotions do or don’t align with your internal standards.”
Does Sophia look self-aware? Yes she does. She answers the journalist’s question with another question, which is surprising .
What do some humans fear? They fear robots might be mean to humans if they are self-aware / if they are given self-awareness.
What movie does the journalist mention? Blade Runner
Blade Runner explores philosophical issues in the film Blade Runner , including human nature, personhood, identity, consciousness, free will, morality, God, death, and the meaning of life.
How does Sophia react to his question? With a joke.
How does she answer the journalist’s question? By asking how he knows he is human.
What does that prove? That she is highly intelligent.
Robots’ contribution to the society
Word practice
Fill in the blanks with the following words :save time / make an appointment / take over / scared / exciting / concerned / fascinating / thrilling / confusing / terrified / apprehensive / useful / time-saving/ positive (Look for the meaning of the words you don’t know in the dictionary)
I would love to meet Sofia and chat with her. I can’t imagine a more ……………………..experience.
2. Many people are …………………………………..about where AI will lead next.
They’re not convinced that it will be for the benefit of humanity.
3. They worry for example that AI will ………..…….. people’s jobs.
4. Personally, I feel quite .…………. about it. I can see plenty of advantages. For example having a virtual assistant who can …………… or …………or make life easier for you is really ……………………… and you can use that time to do more interesting things.
Grammar practice
Evoquer l’avenir
– will : l’évènement est considéré comme fortement probable.
– Be going to : l’évènement est considéré comme étant en bonne voie de réalisation.
– could : l’évènement est considéré comme possible
– might : une éventualité ou une hypothèse parmi d’autres.
1) Fill in the text with might, will or be going to either in the affirmative or negative forms.
Let’s imagine a full humanoid robotic AI educator at the front of the room. Surely, this AI is less likely to make content-area errors. It …………. be able to access absurd amounts of information in the blink of an eye. It would be able to listen and answer questions. It …………. soon even have the ability to read the faces of students and respond accordingly.
What it …………..be able to do however is combine these elements along with a thousand other human variables to create meaning.
So teachers’ jobs are safe for the near future. But based on what is already happening in other countries some things …………. change, and AI ………….. play a part. And although robots ………….. be sitting in the teachers’ chairs, they ……….. joining teachers quite soon as teaching assistants.
2) Fill in the text with could, might, will or be going to
There is little doubt that artificial intelligence ………….. displace more and more low-skilled jobs.
2. Computers are capable of levels of calculations we ………. only dream of achieving with our minds alone.
3. I am confident that AI computers ………… benefit humanity – and fears that they ………… decide that they and the planet would be better without us are unfounded.
4. Stephen Hawking said that if we’re not careful, AI …………….. spell the end of the human race.
5. But others are less pessimistic. The creator of Cleverbot is betting that AI ……….. be a positive force: “I believe we …………. remain in charge of the technology for a decently long time and the potential of it to solve many of the world problems …….. be realized”.