Discussing Artificial Intelligence

2023-09-08

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1
  • Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the subject of many news reports this year. It has also been part of many everyday discussions.
  • 2
  • It will likely continue to be a popular subject of discussion in the coming years, too.
  • 3
  • So, how might one talk about artificial intelligence? What kinds of terms and structures should you use?
  • 4
  • In this week's Everyday Grammar, we will explore a point of connection between grammar and technology.
  • 5
  • You will learn how to ask questions about artificial intelligence.
  • 6
  • You will also learn some ways to express your own opinions about AI.
  • 7
  • Let's start with questions.
  • 8
  • Questions generally come in two forms - yes or no questions and open-ended questions.
  • 9
  • Yes or no questions ask for a yes or a no answer.
  • 10
  • Open-ended questions are seeking more information than a simple yes or no answer.
  • 11
  • Open-ended questions are the secret to good discussions.
  • 12
  • By asking open-ended questions, you can learn much more about the thoughts and opinions of others.
  • 13
  • We often use question words to ask open-ended questions.
  • 14
  • When we discuss artificial intelligence, a few question words will be especially useful. These are what, why, and how.
  • 15
  • Consider these three questions:
  • 16
  • What do you think of artificial intelligence?
  • 17
  • Why are people concerned about artificial intelligence?
  • 18
  • How will artificial intelligence affect our lives?
  • 19
  • Note that there is a general structure to all of these questions.
  • 20
  • They begin with the question word.
  • 21
  • Then, they involve some kind of helping verb: do, be, or will.
  • 22
  • Then we have the subject of the sentence, the main verb, and the rest of the sentence.
  • 23
  • If we reduced these ideas into a kind of math formula, you might say the following:
  • 24
  • Open-ended question = A question word + a helping verb + a subject + a main verb + the rest of the sentence
  • 25
  • We can ask open-ended questions in different tenses.
  • 26
  • For example, we could ask about the past, as in:
  • 27
  • How did you first hear about artificial intelligence?
  • 28
  • In this case, we changed the helping verb do into its past form, did.
  • 29
  • We can also ask about the future, as in:
  • 30
  • How will artificial intelligence change our lives over the next 20 years?
  • 31
  • We have explored questions. But how can we answer such questions?
  • 32
  • One way to think of your answer is in terms of good, bad, and mixed.
  • 33
  • You might use terms such as positive, negative, optimistic or pessimistic.
  • 34
  • Consider this question:
  • 35
  • What do you think of artificial intelligence?
  • 36
  • You might have a positive opinion and say something like this:
  • 37
  • I am optimistic about artificial intelligence.
  • 38
  • You might have a negative opinion and say something like this:
  • 39
  • I am pessimistic about artificial intelligence.
  • 40
  • If your views go both ways, you might say:
  • 41
  • I have mixed opinions about artificial intelligence.
  • 42
  • Of course, after all of these answers, you should be prepared to give more details.
  • 43
  • We often use the word "because" followed by a clause - a subject and predicate group.
  • 44
  • So, you might say
  • 45
  • I am optimistic about artificial intelligence because people will be more productive with it.
  • 46
  • Or
  • 47
  • I am pessimistic about artificial intelligence because I think it will hurt the labor force in a powerful way.
  • 48
  • In today's lesson, we explored a few ways to ask questions and give answers about artificial intelligence.
  • 49
  • Such discussions could take place in an everyday discussion or as part of an English test.
  • 50
  • Let's end today with a homework assignment. Write an answer to the question you heard earlier in the report:
  • 51
  • How will artificial intelligence change our lives over the next 20 years?
  • 52
  • Before writing your answer, be sure to consider what views you have.
  • 53
  • Ask yourself if you see the future in a positive way, a negative way, or in a mixed way. Send us your answers at learningenglish@voanews.com
  • 54
  • I'm John Russell.
  • 1
  • Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the subject of many news reports this year. It has also been part of many everyday discussions.
  • 2
  • It will likely continue to be a popular subject of discussion in the coming years, too.
  • 3
  • So, how might one talk about artificial intelligence? What kinds of terms and structures should you use?
  • 4
  • In this week's Everyday Grammar, we will explore a point of connection between grammar and technology. You will learn how to ask questions about artificial intelligence. You will also learn some ways to express your own opinions about AI.
  • 5
  • Questions - open ended
  • 6
  • Let's start with questions. Questions generally come in two forms - yes or no questions and open-ended questions.
  • 7
  • Yes or no questions ask for a yes or a no answer.
  • 8
  • Open-ended questions are seeking more information than a simple yes or no answer.
  • 9
  • Open-ended questions are the secret to good discussions. By asking open-ended questions, you can learn much more about the thoughts and opinions of others.
  • 10
  • We often use question words to ask open-ended questions. When we discuss artificial intelligence, a few question words will be especially useful. These are what, why, and how.
  • 11
  • Consider these three questions:
  • 12
  • What do you think of artificial intelligence?
  • 13
  • Why are people concerned about artificial intelligence?
  • 14
  • How will artificial intelligence affect our lives?
  • 15
  • Note that there is a general structure to all of these questions. They begin with the question word. Then, they involve some kind of helping verb: do, be, or will. Then we have the subject of the sentence, the main verb, and the rest of the sentence. If we reduced these ideas into a kind of math formula, you might say the following:
  • 16
  • Open-ended question = A question word + a helping verb + a subject + a main verb + the rest of the sentence
  • 17
  • We can ask open-ended questions in different tenses. For example, we could ask about the past, as in:
  • 18
  • How did you first hear about artificial intelligence?
  • 19
  • In this case, we changed the helping verb do into its past form, did.
  • 20
  • We can also ask about the future, as in:
  • 21
  • How will artificial intelligence change our lives over the next 20 years?
  • 22
  • Answers
  • 23
  • We have explored questions. But how can we answer such questions?
  • 24
  • One way to think of your answer is in terms of good, bad, and mixed. You might use terms such as positive, negative, optimistic or pessimistic.
  • 25
  • Consider this question:
  • 26
  • What do you think of artificial intelligence?
  • 27
  • You might have a positive opinion and say something like this:
  • 28
  • I am optimistic about artificial intelligence.
  • 29
  • You might have a negative opinion and say something like this:
  • 30
  • I am pessimistic about artificial intelligence.
  • 31
  • If your views go both ways, you might say:
  • 32
  • I have mixed opinions about artificial intelligence.
  • 33
  • Of course, after all of these answers, you should be prepared to give more details. We often use the word "because" followed by a clause - a subject and predicate group.
  • 34
  • So, you might say
  • 35
  • I am optimistic about artificial intelligence because people will be more productive with it.
  • 36
  • Or
  • 37
  • I am pessimistic about artificial intelligence because I think it will hurt the labor force in a powerful way.
  • 38
  • Closing thoughts
  • 39
  • In today's lesson, we explored a few ways to ask questions and give answers about artificial intelligence. Such discussions could take place in an everyday discussion or as part of an English test.
  • 40
  • Let's end today with a homework assignment. Write an answer to the question you heard earlier in the report:
  • 41
  • How will artificial intelligence change our lives over the next 20 years?
  • 42
  • Before writing your answer, be sure to consider what views you have. Ask yourself if you see the future in a positive way, a negative way, or in a mixed way. Send us your answers at learningenglish@voanews.com
  • 43
  • I'm John Russell.
  • 44
  • John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
  • 45
  • _______________________________________________________
  • 46
  • Words in This Story
  • 47
  • formula -n. a fact or rule that is expressed in letters, numbers and symbols
  • 48
  • optimistic - adj. expecting good things to happen
  • 49
  • pessimistic - adj. expecting bad things to happen
  • 50
  • predicate - n. the part of a sentence that expresses what is said about the subject