American English · B2 · Unit 14
Technology and the future
Technology and the future
By the end you can
- Speculate about how technology will change things
- Discuss what machines should and shouldn't do
- Understand an article about technology
Words and phrases
| American English | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| AI | artificial intelligence | Will AI take our jobs? |
| ten years from now | in ten years | Ten years from now, cars will drive themselves. |
| it's likely that | it will probably happen that | It's likely that some jobs will disappear. |
| I doubt | I don't think it's likely | I doubt it will replace teachers. |
| automate | make machines do the work | They want to automate the whole warehouse. |
| draw the line | decide where the limit is | Where do we draw the line? |
| there's no way | it's impossible (informal) | There's no way a robot could do my job. |
| privacy | keeping your personal information private | Smart speakers worry me because of privacy. |
| data | information collected by computers | Who owns all that data? |
| cutting-edge | the newest and most advanced | They use cutting-edge technology. |
| a game changer | something that changes everything | This could be a game changer for doctors. |
| might well | will quite possibly | Robots might well do most of the driving soon. |
Then talk it through
Colleagues discuss whether AI will change their jobs. In the app you have this conversation out loud or typed, with the unit's goals to tick off and corrections at the end.