Ø artificial intelligence (AI)
Ø robot
Ø cyborg
Ø android
Ø humanoid
4. Answer the questions:
1) Why do people make robots?
2) Why do some people believe that robots can be dangerous?
3) What are the real reasons to worry about robots?
4) Are there any limits to how intelligent machines can be?
5) What is the difference between human intelligence and artificial intelligence?
6) Can a machine have human feelings? Why?
7) What may happen if humans hand over important decisions to machines?
8) What science fiction books and films about robots do you know? What role do robots play in people's life in these books or films?
9) What is your personal attitude to robots?
10) Would you like to have a domestic robot? Why?
Fill in the table
| The reasons to trust robots | The reasons to mistrust robots |
Read the quotations below. Choose any statement and comment on it
'The sad thing about artificial intelligence is that it lacks artifice and therefore intelligence.' (Jean Baudrillard)
'Some people worry that artificial intelligence will make us feel inferior, but then, anybody in his right mind should have an inferiority complex every time he looks at a flower.' (Alan Kay)
'No computer has ever been designed that is ever aware of what it's doing; but most of the time, we aren 't either.' (Marvin Minsky)
'Man has made many machines, complex and cunning, but which of them indeed rivals the workings of his heart?' (Pablo Casals)
'The greatest task before civilization at present is to make machines what they ought to be, the slaves, instead of the masters of men.' (Henry Ellis)
'As machines become more and more efficient and perfect, so it will become clear that imperfection is the greatness of man.' (Ernst Fischer)
'The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.' (B. F. Skinner)
TEXT 3
Read the text and be ready for a comprehension check-up.
"WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER TO BECOME A SCIENTIST? IF SO, IN WHAT FIELD?"
The questions were asked by the Literary Gazette and a British scientist was reported to answer as follows.
"I would not like my son or daughter to become a scientist of the kind typical in the world today. The development of science has already led to many undesirable consequences and is likely to lead to many more unless great effort is made to control the application of scientific discoveries. If, however, science could be developed in a new way to become a meaningful social activity, I would be glad to see my son or daughter doing science.
So far as the field is concerned, I think there will be a growing tendency for scientists to occupy themselves with problems which affect fairly directly the lives of people. There seems to exist a great need to develop science which deals specially with the problems of how the applications of science affect man. To cite but a few examples, there are such problems as urban development, education and, of course, the prevention of war. If the new knowledge about the world is used for the benefit of man, rather than for death and destruction, the human race can continue to benefit from science for centuries to come.
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Check up for comprehension.
1. What can you say about the form of the text and the title?
2. Is the answer to the 1st question "yes" or "no"?
3. What are the author's reasons for this answer?
4. Under what condition would the answer be different?
5. Does the author indicate any specific science in his answer to the 2nd question?
6. What problems are considered by the author to be worth studying? Why?
7. What is necessary for science to remain beneficial for people?
UNIT VI SPECIAL TEXTS
