047 – The robots are coming. Are you ready?

A study predicts that all human tasks could be automated in the next 30 years. And that all human jobs might be replaced within the next 100 years or so. Holy crap! What will we do when the robots take over? A.I. is coming. The robots are coming. But are we ready?

In this Real English conversations podcast from Better at English, Lori and her American friend Will talk about their questions and concerns about the rise of A.I. (Artificial intelligence) and the automation of human labor. You can find the full transcript in my archive of English conversation transcripts for language learners.

Additional resources and supplementary material
Humans need not apply
Video about how automation and A.I. will affect the job market for humans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pq-S557XQU
Robots will beat humans at every task
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/06/this-is-when-robots-will-start-beating-humans-at-every-task-ae5ecd71-5e8e-44ba-87cd-a962c2aa99c2
Traffic death statistics
https://www.cdc.gov/injury/features/global-road-safety/index.html
Dirty, Dirty robots.
Funny (but still disturbing) video about A.I. from comedian Lee Camp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyfxP6ZyNtw
Link to original Yale / Oxford study about A.I.
This is for learners of academic English. People in the videos about A.I. summarize findings from this study. This is the actual academic study for comparison.
https://arxiv.org/pdf/1705.08807.pdf
Elon musk on the Joe Rogan podcast, talking about A.I.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra3fv8gl6NE
Elon Musk's talk at SXSW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-Osn1gMNtw
Ted talk with neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nt3edWLgIg
Sam Harris on the Joe Rogan Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BChxQHyFIOI&t=1487s
TED talk by Peter Haas A robot designer who is afraid of robots
The Real Reason to be Afraid of Artificial Intelligence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRzBk_KuIaM
How frightened should be be of A.I.?
Article in the New Yorker, free, with full text and audio so you can read along as you listen.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/14/how-frightened-should-we-be-of-ai
Video about delivery robots
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujzjZuhE92g

Om Podcasten

Want to learn English conversation? Better at English "Real English Conversations" podcast (established in 2006) gives you fun, authentic English conversations for listening practice. You'll learn informal vocabulary, slang, idioms, and more. Read along as you listen with our free transcripts -- go to https://www.betteratenglish.com/transcripts for free transcripts and vocabulary lessons. The host of Better at English, Lori, also does solo English lesson episodes where she talks about English learning tips, grammar, vocabulary, and other topics to help you with your English learning. This podcast is suitable for English learners from lower-intermediate and above.