Unit 3 Enhancing Reality

TECHNOLOGY
LISTENING SKILL: Signal Phrases
Listen 1 (Audio)
ILS_L2_U3_Listen1
M1: Good afternoon, everyone. Notice anything…different? Anyone notice my stylish
high-tech glasses? I promise you that I’m not just trying to look cool. These are
actually augmented reality glasses. Has anyone seen these before? No one?
Well, augmented reality, or AR, is when you can see not only the world around you,
but also get computer information and images related to what you’re seeing. It’s like
placing a computer layer over the real world.
So first of all, I want to show you how these AR glasses work. Now I’m looking out
this classroom window here. With these glasses, not only do I see everything that’s
outside, but I also see computer graphics with weather information. For instance,
my glasses say that it’s 77 degrees and sunny outside right now. Also, I’m getting
information on flowers and trees as I look around. For example, that flower over
there – my glasses say that it’s an azalea. It’s important to note that these glasses
work as a phone, too. So I can send text messages using voice commands, and I can
have a phone conversation using the glasses.
Okay, next I want to talk about different applications that could work with AR
glasses.
Let’s say you go on a trip overseas. You could use an augmented reality application
as your tour guide. You could look at a museum and see everything that’s inside it
before you go in. Of course, if you decide to go into the museum, you could interact
with information and even videos related to different exhibitions there. Plus, after
the museum, when you see a restaurant that looks good, your glasses will show you
the complete menu and prices as well as online reviews. And then when it’s time to
exchange money, you can use your AR glasses to compare currency rates at different
banks. And you won’t need a camera for this trip because you can take photos and
videos with your glasses, too.
There are plenty of other possible AR applications. Let’s say that after you graduate
you’re looking for a job. Imagine if you could look at a building and see what
companies are inside the building and what job openings they have. Along the same
lines, imagine an application giving you land information when you’re hiking, so you
know if hills, roads, and rivers are ahead of you. In fact, this is something the
military has already started using.
In addition, AR applications can be used in education. If you’re in the library looking
at a book with AR glasses, you’ll see Internet links to videos related to your book. Of
course, if you get bored in the library, you’ll have thousands of videos and games
stored on your glasses to entertain you. But I know none of you gets bored in the
library, right?
Finally, there are some great applications for AR in health and medicine. For people
with heart problems, AR apps can check their heart rates and connect them with
their doctor if there’s a problem. There’s even an application that lets medical
students practice surgery on virtual human bodies.
For the duration of class, I want you to break into groups of four. I’d like each group
to discuss a new application for augmented reality glasses. You’ll be developing your
application throughout the week, so this planning period is key. Also, as you work,
each group can come up and take turns using the glasses. Ok, so I’m going to read
aloud the names for each group…
SPEAKING SKILL: Sharing Opinions Politely
Listen 2 (Audio)
ILS_L2_U3_Listen2
Moderator: Hello everyone, and welcome to Tech at Work. Today, millions of robots
are doing jobs that humans once did. They’re cleaning our houses, driving our cars,
and even providing medical services. Robots are becoming a bigger part of our lives
every day, and they’re getting smarter and faster. That’s why I’m here today with
scientist Edward Ballantyne…
Edward: Hello.
Moderator: …and Pritha Sarin. Pritha is a researcher at the Economic Development
Organization. Welcome, Pritha.
Pritha: Hi, thanks for having me.
Moderator: Today we’re talking about the future of manufacturing. One common
concern is that the widespread use of robots in factories will cause millions of
people to lose their jobs. Edward, let’s start with you. What do you think about
robots in the workplace?
Edward: I think there’s nothing to worry about. History has shown that robots and
automation actually create economic growth. Robots can work seven days a weekwithout
rest, and they don’t need retirement and health benefits. They save
companies time and money so that the companies can invest in new developments.
Pritha: I’m not sure that I agree. Yes, we’ve experienced automation before, but
never this fast and never this much. At some factories, just one robot can substitute
for five human workers. Most people can’t retrain for new jobs fast enough to
compete with robots. I think there will be significant job losses.
Edward: Yes, I partially agree with you. Robot technology is advancing quickly, it’s
true. I’m reluctant to agree with you completely, because I think people adjust
quickly too. And we’ll still need workers to design and program new robots, so there
will be lots of new jobs. I think the effects of job losses will be marginal.
Moderator: Let’s talk about the human element. Is there value in having a person
perform a task, instead of a machine? An interesting question came up at Google.
Google has developed its own driverless cars. These cars have special detection
systems that sense other cars, traffic lights, and everything else on the road, so they
don’t need a person to drive them. Engineers have said that driverless detection
systems will eventually make robots almost perfect drivers. So, in the future, it could
even become illegal for people to drive their own cars because robots will be safer
drivers. Do you think we have too much confidence in the abilities of the machines
we’re creating? Pritha, can you take this one?
Pritha: Well, I see it a little differently. Forget the technology and think about the
people. I worry that people will lose basic skills. What if a robot breaks down after
you’ve become dependent on it to drive you to work? Or worse, what if people let
robots do everything? Then we stop learning, and we stop creating.
Edward: Well, people might forget how to do some activities. That’s probably true.
But to me, this doesn’t matter. How many people can ride a horse today? How many
people can make their own clothes? Not many and not many would want to. People
today spend their time doing other things and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Moderator: Well, I’m still trying to decide what I think. Going back to the point that
Pritha made, what if robots do become conscious, and start to think and be creative?
Then robots really could take over almost all human roles in the workplace.
Edward: I partially agree that robots will be able to do some thinking, but I think
robots will always need computer programming to think at a higher level. And that
computer programming will always come from people. You know, a university in the
US recently devoted a lot of time and money to programming a robot to see itself in
the mirror, but … it was programmed to do that, and it couldn’t do anything else
besides that. I don’t think self-aware robots are a real threat.
Pritha: He’s absolutely right. Having self-aware robots seems impossible to me. But
I think we have other things to worry about with robots. Again, I worry about job
loss and the people who are displaced by machines…
Moderator: I’m sorry, Pritha, Edward, we’re going to have to take a break here.
When we return, we’ll discuss what human skills will become more important in an
automated work environment.
End of Unit Task (Audio)
ILS_L2_U3_End
M1: Some people say that the growth of technology is an overall benefit, but I see it
a little differently. First of all, I believe that the growth of technology is a major
social problem among young people. For instance, studies have shown that over
60% of high school students are addicted to hi-tech devices. In fact, students
addicted to technology exhibited loneliness and depression. In addition, lack of
social interaction is a problem. As people become addicted to their hi-tech machines,
they have less interaction with other people. As a result, they lose important social
skills that are needed for living in the real world. For these reasons, I feel that there
are more disadvantages than benefits with the growth of technology.