Do you fear the future?

1. Warm-up
Discuss the questions below:

1. What do you think of when you hear the words “the future”?
2. Where do you think technology will take people in 30-50 years?
3. Do you believe there is good reason to fear the future?

2. We are going to watch a video. First, match the words below with their definitions.

3. Your teacher is going to say the words you have learned. You must say which is the stressed
syllable in each.

1. Overblown
2. Parsimonious
3. Apparatus
4. Simulate
5. Intelligence
6. Coding
7. Complex
8. Deterministic

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4. Put the words where they belong in the sentences.

code / overblown / complex / parsimonious / simulate / deterministic / apparatus / bound

1. I have been learning to _______________ since I was 10. I love writing computer programs.
2. Apparently, there is a machine that can _______________ zero-gravity. It’s really like being
in space.
3. This puzzle is too _______________ and difficult. There are so many parts!
4. In my opinion, concerns about the environment are _______________. The dangers aren’t
that bad.
5. We need to be _______________ with our resources. We can’t waste them.
6. I don’t like this game. It is very _______________. You can’t change the outcome.
7. The machines can’t hurt people. They are _______________ by their programming to
respect humans.
8. Astronauts have a special breathing _______________ to help them in space.

5. Are AI fears overblown? Watch this video and answer the questions.

CEO Naval Ravikat Says AI Fears Are Overblown | Joe Rogan

1. What is the primary speaker’s view on the future of AI?

2. Broadly speaking, what are his reasons for believing this?

6. Watch the video up to 2:20 and answer the questions.

1. According to the speaker, what does it mean if an AI is able to do its own coding?
2. How does the speaker describe “narrow AI”?
3. At best estimates, what would take 50 years?
4. Why does the speaker say that he believes there is no such thing as “general intelligence”?

7. Watch the video from 4:20 until the end and answer the questions.

1. Why does the speaker talk about a human raised in a concrete cell?
2. What point does the speaker make about the game “Go” compared to the real world?
3. What does he mean when he says “creativity is the last frontier”?

8. Discussion
Do you agree with this statement? Why/not?

“... to be creative … is really what every human wants.”

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9. Read the text about the future of technology.
Technology underpins everything in the modern world. We’re heading into a future where
improved battery technology will unquestionably enable better electric cars, personal flying
machines, private space tourism and drone delivery services. We’ll conceivably charge our devices
using wireless power, let algorithms optimize and guard our homes, and have virtual assistants to
help us manage the flood of data and make sense of it.

Some of this might happen. Or none of it. Three things, however, are certain: technology will
undoubtedly get smaller, smarter and cheaper. In fact, it will most likely get so small, smart and
cheap that we’ll be able to put computers and sensors into almost anything – bins will tell the
council when they’re full, 4K televisions will notice when we’ve stopped watching and turn
themselves off to save power.

The future is… unpredictable.

10. Answer the questions based on the text.

1. Does the writer see the future as positive or negative?

2. According to the writer, how will we solve the problem of being overloaded with
information in the future?
3. What is the general trend of technology, according to the writer?

11. Look at the reading again.

What words does the writer use to make predictions?

Technology underpins everything in the modern world. We’re heading into a future where
improved battery technology will unquestionably enable better electric cars, personal flying
machines, private space tourism and drone delivery services. We’ll conceivably charge our devices
using wireless power, let algorithms optimize and guard our homes, and have virtual assistants to
help us manage the flood of data and make sense of it.

Some of this might happen. Or none of it. Three things, however, are certain: technology will
undoubtedly get smaller, smarter and cheaper. In fact, it will most likely get so small, smart and
cheap that we’ll be able to put computers and sensors into almost anything – bins will tell the
council when they’re full, 4K televisions will notice when we’ve stopped watching and turn
themselves off to save power.

The future is… unpredictable.

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12. Put the words onto the scale of certainty where you believe they belong.

almost certainly / undoubtedly / conceivably / almost definitely / presumably /

in all likelihood / unquestionably / surely

13. Complete the sentences so that they use a word that corresponds with the likelihood
something will happen.

1. By the year 2050, we will ______________________ have flying cars. (30%)

2. In 100 years, we will _____________________________ have solved the climate crisis.
(90%)
3. In 2 years, there will _____________________________ be a new president. (70%)
4. When I finish school, I will ________________________________ go to university. (100%)
5. When AI becomes intelligent enough, it will _____________________________ try to take
over the world! (70%)

14. Make a prediction on these topics and the times given.

Your life in: 2 weeks / 10 years

Your country in: 1 year / 20 years

The environment in: 10 years / 50 years

15. Artificial Intelligence is not the first piece of technology that people believe could change the
world. Match these world-changing inventions with the years / eras that they come from.

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16. Read about several other past inventions and how they changed the world.
Choose the correct word in bold.

The Wheel

Prior to the invention of the wheel in 3500 B.C., humans were severe/severely/sever limited in the
quantity of stuff that we were capable of transporting. The actual wheel itself did not prove to be
the greatest challenge to "inventing the wheel." Far more tricky, was some sort of device that was
capable of connecting the wheels. However, once this problem was solved, the wheel changed
everything. Wheeled carts facilitation/facility/facilitated agriculture and commerce by allowing
people to transport goods to and from markets, as well as easing/to ease/ease the struggles of
people traveling across extended areas. These days, wheels are vital/vitality/vitamin to everyday
life, and are found in all sorts of machines, such as cars and clocks.

17. The Nail

This vital invention date/dates/dately back more than 2,000 years to the Ancient Romans and was
made possible only after humans learned how to forge metal. Initially, wood structures were
constructed geometry/geometric/geometrically, with interlocking adjacent boards, which was a
far more difficult construct/constructing/construction process. Up until the early
1800s, it was the norm/normal/normally for people to use nails they had made themselves, or
paid a blacksmith to do. This involved heating a square metal rod and then hammering it from four
different directions into a sharp point.

18. The Compass

The original compass invented/was inventing/was invented in China during the Han dynasty
sometime around the 1st or 2nd century BC. It was constructed with lodestone, which is a
magnetized iron ore. However, it wasn’t until the Song Dynasty, between the 11th and 12th
centuries, that it was used for navigate/navigation/navigating. Soon after, the
technology/tech/technological came to the Western world via maritime trade. The compass
allowed seafarers to navigate safely far from land, which in turn opened up the world for
exploring/exploratory/exploration and led to the modern trading system across the world that we
have today.

19. The Printing Press

It was a German inventor/inventer/inventory named Johannes Gutenberg who invented the

printing press around the mid-15th century. It made quite an impact on society, as printing presses
exponentially/exponential/exponent increased the rate at which books could be produced, and

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ultimately resulted in the rapid and widespread disseminate/dissemination/disseminating of
information for the first time ever.
Along with some other things, the printing press allowed more people to get their own copies of
the Bible, which then resulted in multiple interpretations/interpreted/interpret, including that of
Martin Luther. Luther would go on to spark the Protestant Reformation, which shook Europe.

20. The Internal Combustion Engine

In these engines, the combustion of fuel releases a gas at a very high temperature, which, as it
expand/expanded/expands, causes a piston to move. Therefore, combustion engines turn
chemical energy into mechanician/mechanical/mechanic work. Many years of
engineering/engineertion/engineers by countless experts went into designing this mechanism. It
took on its modern form somewhere towards the end of the 19th century. It had an enormous
impact on people’s lives as it brought about the Industrial Age. On top of that, it enabled the
invention of a wide range of machines, including modernity/modernly/modern aircraft and cars.

21. Discussion

1. What do you think are some of the good things that are coming in the future?
2. What inventions would you like to see developed in the future?
3. How much should you try to “live for the moment” and “prepare for the future”?

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