Scientific innovations and responsibility
ANGLAIS
41
ang1_2000_14_04C
Scientific innovations and responsibility
Artificial intelligence: an asset or a threat?
compréhension de l'écrit et expression écrite
Intérêt du sujet • Selon les adversaires de l'intelligence artificielle (IA), les robots seraient une réelle menace pour l'humanité. L'IA est-elle la future ennemie de l'être humain ou sa plus sûre alliée ?
DocumentTech billionaires Zuckerberg and Musk battle it out for AI
Two of the world's richest and most intelligent men are arguing about the future of artificial intelligence (AI).
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are locked in a very public feud over artificial intelligence.
Musk has repeatedly warned about the dangers of AI, describing it as a potentially existential threat to the human race.
Zuckerberg has a different take. On Sunday, he took questions live over the internet while barbecuing beef brisket at his backyard in Palo Alto, California. He responded to a question about Elon Musk's warnings by saying he was tired of the fear-mongering.
“With AI especially, I'm really optimistic,” Zuckerberg said during the live broadcast. “I think that people who are naysayers and kind of try to drum up these doomsday scenarios – I just, I don't understand it. I think it's really negative and in some ways I actually think it is pretty irresponsible.”
Musk shot back on Tuesday morning with a tweet saying, “I've talked to Mark about this. His understanding of the subject is limited.” He added that a movie on the subject of AI was “coming soon,” but didn't provide details about the film or his involvement.
Musk ignited a global discussion on the perils of AI in 2014. He predicted that humans might be doomed if we make machines that are smarter than us. He said in a recent interview that his warnings haven't been heeded.
Musk, who's leading space exploration projects and major tunneling initiatives, is now trying to develop AI that he hopes will have a positive impact on humanity. He's heading up a startup that intends to build devices to connect the human brain with computers.
Zuckerberg is no stranger to AI. He worked last year on developing an artificial intelligence system to help run his life and his home. After about 100 hours of work, he posted a video at the end of 2016 showcasing an AI system called Jarvis, which is voiced by the actor Morgan Freeman.
In his broadcast, Zuckerberg said AI could be a force for good because it helps power self-driving cars and diagnose illnesses. “If you're arguing against AI, then you're arguing against safer cars that aren't going to have accidents. And you're arguing against being able to better diagnose people when they are sick. I just don't see how, in good conscience, some people can do that. I'm just much more optimistic on it than probably a lot of folks are,” Zuckerberg said.
“In the next 5-10 years, AI is going to deliver so many improvements in the quality of our lives,” he added.
Musk, who has been warning about intelligent robots causing massive job losses and potentially gaining uncontrollable autonomy, responded to Zuckerberg after a social network user posted the tech billionnaire's comments.
Musk, founder of a space company, says humans have to consider colonising other worlds and even merging with machines to maintain the upper hand over robots that “will be able to do everything better than us”.
Adapted from http://mydigitalfc.com (The Financial Chronicle),
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Compréhension de l'écrit 10 points
Answer the following questions in English, using your own words.
▶ 1. After reading the text, what can you say about:
a) the main topic of the text?
b) The people involved?
c) Their opinions on the topic?
▶ 2. Comment on the following paragraph and explain Musk's feelings on the topic:
“Musk says humans have to consider colonising other worlds and even merging with machines to maintain the upper hand over robots that ‘will be able to do everything better than us'.”
Expression écrite 10 points
Vous traiterez en anglais l'un des deux sujets suivants au choix. Répondez en 120 mots au moins.
Sujet A
You participate in a science competition: “The perfect robot”. Participants must create a robot that will improve people's lives. The winner will receive $10,000 to build a prototype. Write a speech to present your idea of the perfect robot to the jury.
Sujet B
Who do you agree most with? Why?
Les clés du sujet
Compréhension de l'écrit
Comprendre le document
Préparer sa réponse à la question 2
Lisez attentivement et plusieurs fois la citation. Relevez les mots et expressions clés qui vous permettront de comprendre les intentions et les sentiments d'Elon Musk.
Gardez en tête l'opinion d'Elon Musk (que vous avez notée dans la réponse précédente) : contrairement à Mark Zuckerberg, il est inquiet à propos du développement de l'IA et insiste sur ses dangers.
Expression écrite
Sujet A
Key ideas. You have to write a speech, delivered in front of a jury: start addressing the jury (before the other members of the audience). Find strong arguments to convince them in order to win the competition of “the perfect robot”.
A few tools. Organise your speech: you can start by explaining the different tasks your robot is able to perform, then show why it can improve people's lives and make the world a better place to live.
Sujet B • Key ideas and a few tools
Compréhension de l'écrit
▶ 1. a) The topic of the text is artificial intelligence (AI) and its future evolution.
b) Two famous AI specialists and tech billionaires are involved: Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
c) These two men don't agree about AI:
conseil
Pour mieux comprendre les mots composés, regardez comment ils sont construits. En les « décortiquant » et en les rapprochant d'autres mots connus, vous parviendrez à deviner ce qu'ils signifient.
Elon Musk thinks AI can be dangerous to the human race. Indeed, if we create robots that are better and more intelligent than us, there might be a point where these robots will take our jobs and even gain control over us.
On the contrary, Zuckerberg is hopeful about the future of AI. He doesn't understand why human beings should be afraid of it since it is developed to be good to us and to help us in many ways. He gives the examples of self-driving cars which are made to avoid accidents or robots used in medicine to diagnose diseases: they are definitely made to improve our lives. In his opinion, it is nonsense to even mention the dangers of AI.
▶ 2. In this paragraph, Musk is still worried about the future of AI and he suggests some solutions to avoid its dangers.
According to him, the threat is a serious one: if robots are better and smarter than us, they may take the upper-hand.
vocabulaire
to take the upper-hand : prendre l'avantage
to merge with machines : fusionner avec les machines
That is why we have to find strategies to remain in control; for example, colonising other planets and merging with machines or connecting with computers.
Musk thus shows his dystopian vision of the evolution of AI.
Expression écrite
Sujet A
Members of the jury, Ladies and Gentlemen
It is an honour to be here today to present Nannybot, the robot I have designed as a result of my great interest in robotics technology and my life as an elder brother.
Indeed, Nannybot is programmed to look after children in any situation. It is able to read a child's face to anticipate his or her needs, and to adapt to different circumstances. In the morning, Nannybot will wake up your children, give them a healthy breakfast and get them ready. But most of all, it will also be useful at night, checking the quality of their sleep and providing the necessary care they need.
vocabulaire
to look after : s'occuper de
to provide care : fournir des soins
a childminder : une nourrice (a nanny: une nounou)
Thus, when Nannybot is around, you won't need to worry about your children's well-being anymore. You will finally be able to enjoy the quality time you can now spend with them.
That is why I am sure Nannybot is the perfect childminder and companion that can make both children and adults live a better life.
(168 words)
Sujet B
Like Mark Zuckerberg, I am hopeful about the future of AI and I agree with his optimistic view on the improvements it will lead to.
vocabulaire
hopeful : plein d'espoir, optimiste
surgery : intervention chirurgicale
to improve : améliorer → an improvement : une amélioration
a field : un domaine
As a matter of fact, AI is already everywhere. In medicine, robotic surgical systems allow doctors to perform precision surgery. On planes, AI autopilots make flights safer. At home, smart personal assistants (such as Siri, Alexa or Cortana) are always listening to us in order to add tasks to our calendar, make and receive phone calls or check our home devices.
Therefore, as those examples show, AI has remarkably improved our lives in different fields. Why would this change in the future? If AI technology is programmed for the good of humans, it will thus be more and more useful, and will make our lives better and better.
I believe that intelligent robots are the future and AI is progress. It would be impossible and ridiculous to try to stop progress and get back to primary forms of technology.
(164 mots)