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  • Hello. This is 6 Minute English

  • from BBC Learning English.

  • I’m Sam.

  • And I’m Neil.

  • On Saturday mornings I love going

  • to watch football in the park.

  • The problem is when it’s cold and

  • rainy - I look out the bedroom window

  • and go straight back to bed!

  • Well, instead of going to the park, why

  • not bring the park to you? Imagine

  • watching a live version of the

  • football match at home in the warm,

  • with friends. Sound good, Sam?

  • Sounds great! – but how can I be in

  • two places at once? Is there some

  • amazing invention to do that?

  • There might be, Sam - and it could

  • be happening sooner than you think,

  • thanks to developments in VR, or

  • virtual reality. According to Facebook

  • boss, Mark Zuckerberg, in the future

  • well all spend much of our time

  • living and working in themetaverse’ – a

  • series of virtual worlds.

  • Virtual reality is a topic weve discussed

  • before at 6 Minute English. But when

  • Facebook announced that it was

  • hiring ten thousand new workers

  • to develop VR for themetaverse’, we

  • thought it was time for another look.

  • Is this programme, well be hearing two

  • different opinions on themetaverse

  • and how it might shape the future.

  • But first I have a question for you, Neil.

  • According to a 2021 survey by

  • gaming company, Thrive Analytics, what

  • percentage of people who try virtual

  • reality once want to try it again? Is it:

  • a) 9 percent?

  • b) 49 percent? or,

  • c) 79 percent?

  • I guess with VR you either love it

  • or hate it, so I’ll say b) 49 percent of

  • people want to try it again.

  • OK, I’ll reveal the correct answer

  • later in the programme. But what

  • Neil said is true: people tend to either

  • love virtual reality or hate it.

  • Somebody who loves it is

  • Emma Ridderstad, CEO of Warpin’, a

  • company which develops

  • VR technology.

  • Here she is telling BBC World

  • Service programme, Tech Tent, her

  • vision of the future:

  • In ten years, everything that you

  • do on your phone today, you will

  • do in 3-D, through your classes

  • for example. You will be able to do

  • your shopping, you will be able to

  • meet your friends, you will be able

  • to work remotely with whomever

  • you want, you will be able to share

  • digital spaces, share music, share

  • art, share projects in digital spaces

  • between each other. And you will also

  • be able to integrate the digital objects

  • in your physical world, making the

  • world much more phygital than

  • is it today.

  • Virtual reality creates 3-D, or

  • three-dimensional experiences where

  • objects have the three dimensions of

  • length, width and height. This makes

  • them look lifelike and solid, not

  • two-dimensional and flat.

  • Emma says that in the future VR will

  • mix digital objects and physical

  • objects to create exciting new

  • experienceslike staying home to

  • watch the same football match

  • that is simultaneously happening in

  • the park. She blends the words

  • physicalanddigitalto make a new

  • word describing this

  • combination: phygital.

  • But while a ‘phygitalfuture sounds

  • like paradise to some, others are

  • more scepticalthey doubt that

  • VR will come true or be useful.

  • One such sceptic is technology

  • innovator, Dr Nicola Millard. For one

  • thing, she doesn’t like wearing a

  • VR headsetthe heavy helmet and

  • glasses that create virtual reality

  • for the wearersomething she

  • explained to BBC World Service’s,

  • Tech Tent:

  • There are some basic things to

  • think about. So, how do we

  • access it? So, the reason, sort of,

  • social networks took off was, weve

  • got mobile technologies that let

  • us use it. Now, obviously one of

  • the barriers can be that VR or AR

  • headsets - so VR, I’ve always been

  • slightly sceptical about. I’ve called

  • itvomity realityfor a while because,

  • frankly, I usually need a bucket

  • somewhere close if youve got a

  • headset on meand also, do I want

  • to spend vast amounts of time in

  • those rather unwieldy headsets?

  • Now, I know theyre talking AR as

  • well and obviously that does not

  • necessarily need a headset, but I

  • think were seeing some quite

  • immersive environments coming

  • out at the moment as well.

  • Nicola called VRvomity reality

  • because wearing a headset makes

  • her feel sick, maybe because it’s

  • so unwieldydifficult to move or

  • wear because it’s big and heavy.

  • She also makes a difference

  • between VR - virtual reality- and AR,

  • which stands for augmented

  • realitytech which adds to the

  • ordinary physical world by

  • projecting virtual words, pictures

  • and characters, usually by wearing

  • glasses or with a mobile phone.

  • While virtual reality replaces what

  • you hear and see, augmented

  • reality adds to it. Both VR and AR

  • are immersive experiencesthey

  • stimulate your senses and surround

  • you so that you feel completely

  • involved in the experience.

  • In fact, the experience feels so real

  • that people keep coming back

  • for more.

  • Right! In my question I asked

  • Neil how many people who try

  • VR for the first time want to try

  • it again.

  • I guessed it was about half

  • 49 percent. Was I right?

  • You werewrong, I’m afraid.

  • The correct answer is much

  • higher - 79 percent of people

  • would give VR another try.

  • I suppose because the experience

  • was so immersivestimulating,

  • surrounding and realistic.

  • Ok, A, let’s recap the other

  • vocabulary from this programme

  • on themetaverse’, a kind of

  • augmented realityreality which

  • is enhanced or added to

  • by technology.

  • 3-D objects have three

  • dimensions, making them

  • appear real and solid.

  • Phygital is an invented word

  • which combines the features of

  • physicalanddigitalworlds.

  • A sceptical person is doubtful

  • about something.

  • And finally, unwieldy means

  • difficult to move or carry because

  • it’s so big and heavy.

  • That’s our six minutes up, in this

  • reality anyway. See you in the

  • metaversesoon!

  • Goodbye!

  • Hello. This is 6 Minute English

  • from BBC Learning English.

  • I’m Neil.

  • And I’m Sam.

  • What do shopping with a credit

  • card, finding love through

  • internet dating and waiting for

  • the traffic lights to change

  • have in common?

  • Hmmm, they all involve

  • computers?

  • Good guess, Sam! But how

  • exactly do those computers work?

  • The answer is that they all use

  • algorithmssets of mathematical

  • instructions which find solutions

  • to problems.

  • Although they are often hidden,

  • algorithms are all around us.

  • From mobile phone maps to

  • home delivery pizza, they play a

  • big part of modern life. And

  • theyre the topic of this programme.

  • A simple way to think of algorithms

  • is as recipes. To make pancakes

  • you mix flour, eggs and milk, then

  • melt butter in a frying pan and

  • so on. Computers do this in more

  • a complicated way by repeating

  • mathematical equations over

  • and over again.

  • Equations are mathematical

  • sentences showing how two

  • things are equal. Theyre similar

  • to algorithms and the most famous

  • scientific equation of all, Einstein's

  • E=MC2, can be thought of as a

  • three-part algorithm.

  • But before my brain gets squashed

  • by all this maths, I have a quiz

  • question for you, Sam. As you know,

  • Einstein’s famous equation is

  • E=MC2 - but what does the

  • ‘E’ stand for? Is it:

  • a) electricity?

  • b) energy? or

  • c) everything?

  • I’m tempted to say ‘E’ is for

  • everythingbut I reckon I know

  • the answer: b – ‘E’ stands

  • forenergy’.

  • OK, Sam, well find out if youre

  • right later in the programme.

  • With all this talk of computers, you

  • might think algorithms are a

  • new idea. In fact, theyve been

  • around since Babylonian times,

  • around 4,000 years ago.

  • And their use today can be

  • controversial. Some algorithms

  • used in internet search engines

  • have been accused of

  • racial prejudice.

  • Ramesh Srinivasan is Professor

  • of Information Studies at the

  • University of California. Here’s what

  • he said when asked what the word

  • algorithmactually means by

  • BBC World Service’s programme,

  • The Forum:

  • My understanding of the term

  • algorithmis that it’s not necessarily

  • the bogyman, or its not necessarily

  • something that is, you know, inscrutable

  • or mysterious to all peopleit’s the

  • set of instructions that you write in

  • some mathematical form or in

  • some software codeso it’s the

  • repeated set of instructions that

  • are sequenced, that are used and

  • applied to answer a question or

  • resolve a problemit’s a simple

  • as that, actually.

  • Some think that algorithms have

  • been controversial, but Professor

  • Srinivasan says they are not

  • necessarily the bogyman. The

  • bogyman refers to something

  • people callbadorevilto make

  • other people afraid.

  • Professor Srinivasan thinks

  • algorithms are neither evil nor

  • inscrutablenot showing emotions

  • or thoughts and therefore very

  • difficult to understand.

  • Still, it can be difficult to understand

  • exactly what algorithms are,

  • especially when there are many

  • different types of them. So, let’s

  • take an example.

  • It’s autumn and we want to

  • collect all the apples from our

  • orchard and divide them into

  • three groupsbig, medium

  • and small. One method is to

  • collect all the apples together

  • and compare their sizes.

  • But doing this would take hours!

  • It’s much easier to first collect

  • the apples from only one tree -

  • divide those into big, medium

  • or smalland then repeat the

  • process for the other trees,

  • one by one.

  • That’s basically what algorithms

  • dothey find the most efficient

  • way to get things done, or in other

  • words, get the best results in the

  • quickest time.

  • Mathematics professor Ian

  • Stewart agrees. Listen as he

  • explains how the algorithm called

  • bubble sortworks to BBC World

  • Service’s programme, The Forum:

  • Think of when your computer is

  • sorting emails by date and maybe

  • youve got 500 emails and it sorts

  • them by date in a flash.

  • Now it doesn’t use bubble sort,

  • but it does use a sorting method

  • and if you tried to do that by hand

  • it would take you a very long time,

  • whatever method you used.

  • Professor Stewart describes how

  • algorithms sort emails. To sort is a

  • verb meaning to group together

  • things which share similarities.

  • Just like grouping the apples by

  • size, sorting hundreds of emails

  • by hand would take a long time.

  • But using algorithms, computers

  • do it in a flashvery quickly or

  • suddenly.

  • That phrasein a flashreminds

  • me of how Albert Einstein came up

  • with his famous equation, E=MC2.

  • And that reminds me of your quiz

  • question. You asked about the ‘E’

  • in E=MC2. I said it stands forenergy’.

  • So, was I right?

  • Energyis the correct answer.

  • Energy equals ‘M’ for mass,

  • multiplied by the Constant ‘C’ which

  • is the speed of light, squared.

  • OK, let’s recap the vocabulary from

  • this programme, starting with

  • equation – a mathematical statement

  • using symbols to show two

  • equal things.

  • If something is called a bogyman,

  • it’s something considered bad

  • and to be feared.

  • Inscrutable people don’t show

  • their emotions so are very difficult

  • to get to know.

  • Efficient means working quickly

  • and effectively in an

  • organised way.

  • The verb to sort means to group

  • together things which

  • share similarities.

  • And finally, if something happens

  • in a flash, it happens quickly

  • or suddenly.

  • That’s all the time we have to

  • discuss algorithms. And if

  • youre still not 100% sure about

  • exactly what they are, we hope

  • at least youve learned some

  • useful vocabulary!

  • Join us again soon for more

  • trending topics, sensational

  • science and useful vocabulary

  • here at 6 Minute English from

  • BBC Learning English.

  • Bye for now!

  • Goodbye!

  • Hello. This is 6 Minute English

  • from BBC Learning English.

  • I’m Neil.

  • And I’m Sam.

  • In recent years, many people

  • have wanted to find out more

  • about where they come from.

  • Millions have tried to trace

  • their family history and discover

  • how their ancestors lived

  • hundreds of years ago.

  • The internet has made it much

  • easier to find historical

  • documents and records about

  • your family history - and one of

  • the most useful documents for

  • doing this is the census.

  • A census is an official count of all

  • the people living in a country.

  • It collects information about a

  • country’s population and is usually

  • carried out by the government.

  • In Britain, a census has been

  • carried out every ten years

  • since 1801. In 2002, when

  • census records from a hundred

  • years before became available

  • online, so many people rushed

  • to their computers to access

  • them that the website crashed!

  • But before we find out more

  • about the census and its related

  • vocabulary it’s time for a quiz

  • question, Sam. Someone who

  • knows a lot about his family

  • history is British actor, Danny

  • Dyer. When BBC television

  • programme, Who Do You

  • Think You Are? researched

  • his family history they discovered

  • that the actor was related to

  • someone very famousbut

  • who was it?

  • A) King Edward III,

  • B) William Shakespeare, or,

  • C) Winston Churchill?

  • Well, I know Danny Dyer usually

  • plays tough-guy characters so

  • maybe it’s

  • C), war hero Winston Churchill?

  • OK, Sam, well find out later if

  • that’s correct. Now, although

  • the first British census took

  • place in 1801, other censuses

  • have a much longer history.

  • In fact, the bible story of Mary

  • and Joseph travelling to

  • Bethlehem is linked to a

  • Roman census.

  • So, what was the original

  • reason for counting people

  • and what did governments

  • hope to achieve by doing so?

  • Here’s Dr Kathrin Levitan, author

  • of a book on the cultural history

  • of the census, speaking to

  • BBC World Service programme,

  • The Forum:

  • I think there were probably

  • two most common reasons.

  • One was in order to figure out

  • who could fight in wars, so basically

  • military conscription and in order

  • to find out who could fight in wars

  • ancient governments like the

  • Roman Empire had to find out how

  • many men of a certain age there were.

  • And I would say that the other thing

  • that censuses were most commonly

  • used for was for purposes of taxation.

  • According to Kathrin Levitan, ancient

  • censuses were used to figure outor

  • understand, how many men were

  • available to fight wars.

  • The Roman Empire needed a strong

  • army, and this depended on

  • conscriptionforcing people to

  • become soldiers and join the army.

  • The other main reason for taking

  • a census was taxationthe

  • system of taxing people a certain

  • amount of money to be paid to

  • the government for public services.

  • Ancient and early modern censuses

  • were large and difficult-to-organise

  • projects. They often involved

  • government officials going from

  • house to house, asking questions

  • about the people who lived there.

  • But over time governmentsdesire

  • to know about, and control, its

  • citizens gave rise to new

  • technologies for counting people.

  • Here’s statistician and economist

  • Andrew Whitby explaining how

  • this happened in the US to BBC

  • World Service programme,

  • The Forum:

  • The 1890 census of the United

  • States was the first in which some

  • kind of electro-mechanical process

  • was used to count peopleso

  • instead of armies of clerks reading

  • off census schedules and tabulating

  • these things by hand, for the first

  • time an individual census record

  • would be punched onto a cardso

  • that there were holes in this card

  • representing different characteristics

  • of the person and then those cards

  • could be fed through a machine.

  • Old-fashioned censuses were managed

  • by clerksoffice workers whose job

  • involved keeping records.

  • Thousands of clerks would record

  • the information gathered in the

  • census and tabulate it, in other words,

  • show the information in the form of

  • a table with rows and columns.

  • The US census of 1890 was the first

  • to use machines, and many censuses

  • today are electronically updated to

  • record new trends and shifts in

  • populations as they happen.

  • In fact, so much personal

  • information is now freely available

  • through social media and the

  • internet that some people have

  • questioned the need for having

  • a census at all.

  • Yes, it isn’t hard to find out about

  • someone famous, like a TV star.

  • Someone like Danny Dyer, you mean?

  • Right. In my quiz question I asked

  • Sam which historical figure TV

  • actor, Danny Dyer, was related to.

  • And I said it was

  • C) Winston Churchill. Was I right?

  • It was a good guess, Sam, but

  • the actual answer was

  • A) King Edward III. And no-one

  • was more surprised that he was

  • related to royalty than the

  • EastEnders actor himself!

  • OK, Neil, let’s recap the

  • vocabulary from this programme

  • about the census - the official

  • counting of a nation’s population.

  • To figure something out means

  • to understand it.

  • The Romans used conscription

  • to force men to join the army by law.

  • Taxation is the government’s

  • system of taxing people to pay

  • for public services.

  • A clerk is an office worker whose

  • job involves keeping records.

  • And tabulate means show

  • information in the form of a table

  • with rows and columns.

  • That’s all for our six-minute look

  • at the census, but if weve whetted

  • your appetite for more why not

  • check out the whole episodeit’s

  • available now on the website of

  • BBC World Service programme,

  • The Forum.

  • Bye for now!

  • Bye bye.

  • Hello. This is 6 Minute English

  • from BBC Learning English.

  • I’m Neil.

  • And I’m Georgina.

  • What do Homer, Ray Charles

  • and Jorge Borges all have in

  • common, Georgina?

  • Hmm, so that’s the ancient Greek

  • poet, Homer; American singer,

  • Ray Charles; and Argentine writer,

  • Jorge Luis Borges… I can’t see

  • much in common there, Neil.

  • Well, the answer is that they

  • were all blind.

  • Ah! But that obviously didn’t hold

  • them back - I mean, they were

  • some of the greatest artists ever!

  • Right, but I wonder how easy they

  • would find it living and working in

  • the modern world.

  • Blind people can use a guide dog

  • or a white cane to help them

  • move around.

  • Yes, but a white cane is hardly

  • advanced technology! Recently,

  • smartphone apps have been

  • invented which dramatically

  • improve the lives of blind people

  • around the world.

  • In this programme on blindness

  • in the digital age well be looking

  • at some of these inventions, known

  • collectively as assistive technology

  • that’s any software or equipment

  • that helps people work around their

  • disabilities or challenges.

  • But first it’s time for my quiz

  • question, Georgina. In 1842 a

  • technique of using fingers to feel

  • printed raised dots was invented

  • which allowed blind people to read.

  • But who invented it? Was it:

  • a) Margaret Walker?,

  • b) Louis Braille?, or

  • c) Samuel Morse?

  • Hmm, I’ve heard of Morse code but

  • that wouldn’t help blind people

  • read, so I think it’s, b) Louis Braille.

  • OK, Georgina, well find out the

  • answer at the end of the programme.

  • One remarkable feature of the latest

  • assistive technology is its practicality.

  • Smartphone apps likeBeMyEyes

  • allow blind users to find lost keys,

  • cross busy roads and even colour

  • match their clothes.

  • Brian Mwenda is CEO of a Kenyan

  • company developing this kind of

  • technology. Here he explains to

  • BBC World Service programme,

  • Digital Planet, how his devices seek

  • to enhance, not replace, the

  • traditional white cane:

  • The device is very compatible with

  • any kind of white cane. So, once you

  • clip it on to any white cane it

  • works perfectly to detect the

  • obstacles in front of you, and it

  • relies on echo-location. So,

  • echo-location is the same technology

  • used by bats and dolphins to detect

  • prey and obstacles and all that. You

  • send out a sound pulse and then

  • once it bounces off an obstacle, you

  • can tell how far the obstacle is.

  • When attached to a white cane, the

  • digital device - calledSixth Sense’ -

  • can detect obstaclesobjects which

  • block your way, making it difficult for

  • you to move forward.

  • Sixth Senseworks using echo-location,

  • a kind of ultrasound like that used by

  • bats who send out sound waves

  • which bounce off surrounding objects.

  • The returning echoes show where these

  • objects are located.

  • Some of the assistive apps are so

  • smart they can even tell what kind of

  • object is coming up aheadbe it a

  • friend, a shop door or a speeding car.

  • I guess being able to move around

  • confidently really boosts people’s

  • independence.

  • Absolutely. And it’s challenging

  • stereotypes around blindness too.

  • Blogger, Fern Lulham, who is blind

  • herself, uses assistive apps every day.

  • Here she is talking to

  • BBC World Service’s, Digital Planet:

  • I think the more that society sees

  • blind people in the community, at work,

  • in relationships it does help to tackle

  • all of these stereotypes, it helps

  • people to see blind and

  • visually-impaired people in a whole

  • new way and it just normalises

  • disabilitythat’s what we need, we

  • need to see people just getting on

  • with their life and doing it and then

  • people won’t see it as such a big

  • deal anymore, itll just be the ordinary.

  • Fern distinguishes between people

  • who are blind, or unable to see, and

  • those who are visually impaired

  • experience a decreased ability to see.

  • Assistive tech helps blind people

  • lead normal, independent lives within

  • their local communities. Fern hopes

  • that this will help normalise disability

  • treat something as normal which has

  • not been accepted as normal before

  • so being blind doesn’t have to be a

  • big dealan informal way to say

  • something is not a serious problem.

  • Just keep your eyes closed for a

  • minute and try moving around the

  • room. Youll soon see how difficult

  • it isand how life changing this

  • technology can be.

  • Being able to read books must also

  • open up a world of imagination.

  • So what was the answer to your

  • quiz question, Neil?

  • Ah yes. I asked Georgina who

  • invented the system of reading

  • where fingertips are used to feel

  • patterns of printed raised dots.

  • What did you say, Georgina?

  • I thought it was, b) Louis Braille.

  • Which wasof course the correct

  • answer! Well done, GeorginaLouise

  • Braille the inventor of a reading

  • system which is known worldwide

  • simply as braille.

  • I suppose braille is an early example

  • of assistive technologysystems

  • and equipment that assist people

  • with disabilities to perform everyday

  • functions. Let’s recap the rest of

  • the vocabulary, Neil.

  • OK. An obstacle is an object that

  • is in your way and blocks your

  • movement.

  • Some assisted technology works

  • using echo-location – a system of

  • ultrasound detection used by bats.

  • Being blind is different from being

  • visually impaired - having a

  • decreased ability to see, whether

  • disabling or not.

  • And finally, the hope is that

  • assistive phone apps can help

  • normalise disabilitychange the

  • perception of something into

  • being accepted as normal

  • ..so that disability is no longer a

  • big dealnot a big problem.

  • That’s all for this programme but

  • join us again soon at 6 Minute English

  • and remember you can find many

  • more 6 Minute topics and useful

  • vocabulary archived on

  • bbclearningenglish.com.

  • Don’t forget we also have an app

  • you can download for free from

  • the app stores. And of course we

  • are all over social media, so come

  • on over and say hi.

  • Bye for now!

  • Bye!

  • Welcome to 6 Minute English, where

  • we bring you an intelligent topic

  • and six related items of vocabulary.

  • I’m Neil.

  • And I’m Tim. And today were talking

  • about AIor Artificial Intelligence.

  • Artificial Intelligence is the ability of

  • machines to copy human intelligent

  • behaviourfor example, an

  • intelligent machine can learn

  • from its own mistakes, and make

  • decisions based on what’s happened

  • in the past.

  • There’s a lot of talk about AI these

  • days, Neil, but it’s still just science

  • fiction, isn’t it?

  • That’s not trueAI is everywhere.

  • Machine thinking is in our homes,

  • offices, schools and hospitals.

  • Computer algorithms are helping

  • us drive our cars. Theyre diagnosing

  • what’s wrong with us in hospitals.

  • Theyre marking student essays

  • Theyre telling us what to read on

  • our smartphones

  • Well, that really does sound like

  • science fictionbut it’s

  • happening already, you say, Neil?

  • It’s definitely happening, Tim.

  • And an algorithm, by the way, is

  • a set of steps a computer follows

  • in order to solve a problem.

  • So can you tell me what was the

  • name of the computer which

  • famously beat world chess

  • champion Garry Kasparov

  • using algorithms in 1997?

  • Was it

  • a) Hal, b) Alpha 60,

  • or, c) Deep Blue?

  • I’ll say Deep Blue.

  • Although I’m just guessing.

  • Was it an educated guess, Tim?

  • I know a bit about chess

  • An educated guess is based

  • on knowledge and experience

  • and is therefore likely to be correct.

  • Well, well find out later on how

  • educated your guess was in

  • this case, Tim!

  • Indeed. But getting back to AI

  • and what machines can doare

  • they any good at solving real-life

  • problems? Computers think in zeros

  • and ones don’t they? That sounds

  • like a pretty limited language when

  • it comes to life experience!

  • You would be surprised to what

  • those zeroes and ones can do, Tim.

  • Although youre right that AI does

  • have its limitations at the moment.

  • And if something has limitations

  • there’s a limit on what it can do or

  • how good it can be.

  • OKwell now might be a good time

  • to listen to Zoubin Bharhramani,

  • Professor of Information Engineering

  • at the University of Cambridge and

  • deputy director of the Leverhulme Centre

  • for the Future of Intelligence.

  • He’s talking about what limitations

  • AI has at the moment.

  • I think it’s very interesting how many

  • of the things that we take for granted

  • we humans take for grantedas being

  • sort of things we don’t even think about

  • like how do we walk, how do we reach,

  • how do we recognize our mother. You

  • know, all these things. When you start

  • to think how to implement them on a

  • computer, you realize that it’s those

  • things that are incredibly difficult to get

  • computers to do, and that’s where the

  • current cutting edge of research is.

  • If we take something for granted we

  • don’t realise how important something is.

  • You sometimes take me for granted, I

  • think, Neil.

  • No – I never take you for granted, Tim!

  • Youre far too important for that!

  • Good to hear! So things we take for

  • granted are doing every day tasks like

  • walking, picking something up, or

  • recognizing somebody. We implement

  • or performthese things without

  • thinkingWhereas it’s cutting edge

  • research to try and program a

  • machine to do them.

  • Cutting edge means very new and

  • advanced. It’s interesting isn't it, that

  • over ten years ago a computer beat

  • a chess grand masterbut the

  • same computer would find it incredibly

  • difficult to pick up a chess piece.

  • I know. It’s very strange. But now

  • youve reminded me that we need

  • the answer to today’s question.

  • Which was: What was the name

  • of the computer which famously

  • beat world chess champion

  • Garry Kasparov in 1997? Now, you

  • said Deep Blue, Tim, andthat was

  • the right answer!

  • You see, my educated guess was

  • based on knowledge and experience!

  • Or maybe you were just lucky. So, the

  • IBM supercomputer Deep Blue played

  • against US world chess champion

  • Garry Kasparov in two chess matches.

  • The first match was played in

  • Philadelphia in 1996 and was

  • won by Kasparov. The second was

  • played in New York City in 1997

  • and won by Deep Blue. The 1997

  • match was the first defeat of a

  • reigning world chess champion

  • by a computer under

  • tournament conditions.

  • Let’s go through the words we

  • learned today. First up was

  • artificial intelligenceor AIthe

  • ability of machines to copy human

  • intelligent behaviour.

  • There are AI programs that can

  • write poetry.”

  • Do you have any examples you

  • can recite?

  • Afraid I don’t! Number twoan

  • algorithm is a set of steps a

  • computer follows in order to

  • solve a problem. For example,

  • Google changes its search

  • algorithm hundreds of times

  • every year.”

  • The adjective is algorithmicfor

  • example, “Google has made many

  • algorithmic changes.”

  • Number threeif something has

  • limitations’ – there’s a limit on

  • what it can do or how good it

  • can be. “Our show has certain

  • limitationsfor example, it’s only

  • six minutes long!”

  • That’s rightthere’s only time to

  • present six vocabulary items.

  • Short but sweet!

  • And very intelligent, too. OK, the

  • next item istake something for

  • granted’ – which is when we don’t

  • realise how important something is.

  • We take our smart phones for granted

  • these daysbut before 1995 hardly

  • anyone owned one.”

  • Number five – ‘to implement’ – means

  • to perform a task, or take action.

  • Neil implemented some changes

  • to the show.”

  • The final item iscutting edge’ – new

  • and advanced – “This software is

  • cutting edge.”

  • The software uses cutting edge

  • technology.”

  • OKthat’s all we have time for on

  • today’s cutting edge show. But please

  • check out our Instagram, Twitter,

  • Facebook and YouTube pages.

  • Bye-bye!

  • Goodbye!

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    林宜悉 發佈於 2022 年 09 月 20 日
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