There are many doom's day scenarios. Bio technologies, nano technologies, global warming, nuclear annihilation. While these might be annoying, they are all within our normal understanding and some of humanity is likely to survive. We also would have at least some time to understand and react to most of them. But intelligence is fundamental to our existence and its onset could be very fast. How do you argue with a much more intelligent opponent?
VOCABULARY FOCUS
Activity 2. Fill in the table with derivatives:
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
integral
sufficiently
impressive
activate
annihilation
Activity 3. Match the words to make collocations. Make you examples with them:
1. integral
a. rise
2. advances
b. powerful
3. exponential
c. in artificial intelligence
4. scatter
d. over the web
5. sufficiently
e. part
Activity 4. Fill in the crossword:
Across 5) the hypothesized creation of smarter-than-human entities who rapidly accelerate technological progress beyond the capability of human beings to participate
7) very rapid
8) the study of the modelling of human mental functions by computer programs
Down 1) a network of computers using distributed computing software
2) beginning, inception
3) obscure, vague
4) act of moving forward, improvement
6) constituting a whole
GRAMMAR FOCUS
Activity 5.Choose the correct variant:
1) Evolution suggests that a sufficiently powerful AI _____ humanity.
a) would destroy b) will destroy c) will have destroyed d) will be being destroyed
2) By 2030 an intelligent machine _____ potential to replicate itself.
a) will have b) will have had c) will be having d) will be had
3) The computer with AI’s world view _____ very different from man's.
a) will have been b) would be c) will be d) will be being
4) Even in a doomsday scenario the humanity _____. a) will have survived
b) will have been survived c) will survive d) will be surviving
5) By the time the intelligent computers are invented people _____ how to treat them. a) will have known b) will know c) will be knowing d) would know
Activity 6. Use the correct form of Conditional I:
1. If a computer _____ (become) smart enough, it _____ (program) a copy of itself.
2. If the copy _____ (activate), it _____ (be) smarter than the original.
3. If a computer _____ (understand) that it’s smart, it _____ (think) that it is smarter than people.
4. If we _____ (have) enough time, we _____ (react) to the computer intelligence.
5. If the doomsday scenario _____ (come) true, humanity _____ (have) hard times.
WHILE-READING
Activity 7. Break the text into parts and entitle each part.
Activity 8. Mark the sentences as True, False or Not Given:
1) The author of the text is pessimistic about the future of humanity with the development of AI. ___
2) The potential danger of an intelligent computer lies in its ability to think. ___
3) The process of self-improvement of intelligent computers is compared to a nuclear chain reaction. ___
4) There is no limit to the process of computer self-improvement. ___
5) The author predicts that humanity will be able to control the computer intelligence. ___
POST-READING
Activity 9. Translate the first paragraph of the text.
Activity 10. Identify the topic of the text and its main idea. Summarize the text.
Activity 11. Divide into the groups of 3. Each student reads a separate card with a proposed safety measure to prevent the doomsday scenario. Share your info with the group. Propose your solution of the problem and present it to class.