VOA日常语法2023--Discussing Artificial Intelligence

Discussing Artificial¹ Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the subject of many news reports this year. It has also been part of many everyday discussions².

It will likely continue to be a popular subject of discussion³ in the coming years, too.

So, how might one talk about artificial intelligence? What kinds of terms and structures should you use?

In this week's Everyday Grammar, we will explore a point of connection between grammar and technology. You will learn how to ask questions about artificial intelligence. You will also learn some ways to express your own opinions about AI.

Questions – open ended

Let's start with questions. Questions generally come in two forms – yes or no questions and open-ended questions.

Yes or no questions ask for a yes or a no answer.

Open-ended questions are seeking more information than a simple yes or no answer.

Open-ended questions are the secret to good discussions. By asking open-ended questions, you can learn much more about the thoughts and opinions of others.

We often use question words to ask open-ended questions. When we discuss artificial intelligence, a few question words will be especially useful. These are what, why, and how.

Consider these three questions:

What do you think of artificial intelligence?

Why are people concerned about artificial intelligence?

How will artificial intelligence affect our lives?

Note that there is a general structure to all of these questions. They begin with the question word. Then, they involve some kind of helping⁴ verb: do, be, or will. Then we have the subject of the sentence, the main verb, and the rest of the sentence. If we reduced these ideas into a kind of math formula⁵, you might say the following:

Open-ended question = A question word + a helping verb + a subject + a main verb + the rest of the sentence

We can ask open-ended questions in different tenses. For example, we could ask about the past, as in:

How did you first hear about artificial intelligence?

In this case, we changed the helping verb do into its past form, did.

We can also ask about the future, as in:

How will artificial intelligence change our lives over the next 20 years?

Answers

We have explored questions. But how can we answer such questions?

One way to think of your answer is in terms of good, bad, and mixed. You might use terms such as positive, negative, optimistic or pessimistic⁶.

Consider this question:

What do you think of artificial intelligence?

You might have a positive opinion and say something like this:

I am optimistic about artificial intelligence.

You might have a negative opinion and say something like this:

I am pessimistic about artificial intelligence.

If your views go both ways, you might say:

I have mixed opinions about artificial intelligence.

Of course, after all of these answers, you should be prepared to give more details. We often use the word "because" followed by a clause⁷ – a subject and predicate group.

So, you might say

I am optimistic about artificial intelligence because people will be more productive⁸ with it.

Or

I am pessimistic about artificial intelligence because I think it will hurt the labor⁹ force in a powerful way.

Closing thoughts

In today's lesson, we explored a few ways to ask questions and give answers about artificial intelligence. Such discussions could take place in an everyday discussion or as part of an English test.

Let's end today with a homework assignment. Write an answer to the question you heard earlier in the report:

How will artificial intelligence change our lives over the next 20 years?

Before writing your answer, be sure to consider what views you have. Ask yourself if you see the future in a positive way, a negative way, or in a mixed way. Send us your answers at [email protected]

Words in This Story

formula –n. a fact or rule that is expressed in letters, numbers and symbols

optimistic – adj. expecting good things to happen

pessimistic – adj. expecting bad things to happen

predicate – n. the part of a sentence that expresses what is said about the subject

1 artificial   

adj.人工的，人造的，人为的；做作的，假装的

参考例句：

• The new dam will form a large artificial lake behind it.新筑的水坝将会在后面形成一个人工湖。
• We don't use any artificial flavourings in our products.我们的产品不使用任何人工调味剂。

2 discussions   

n.讨论( discussion的名词复数 )；商讨；详述；论述

参考例句：

• Discussions are held on an informal basis within the department. 讨论限于在本部门内非正式地进行。
• Her specialist input to the discussions has been very useful. 她在这些讨论中提供的专家建议很有助益。

3 discussion   

n.讨论，谈论；论述

参考例句：

• It is certain he will come to the discussion.他肯定会来参加讨论。
• After months of discussion,a peace agreement is gradually taking shape.经过几个月的商讨，和平协议渐渐有了眉目。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 formula   

n.公式；配方，外方；规则，一定的做法

参考例句：

• His father is acting on his formula.他的父亲总是按他的原则办事。
• Here are some applications of Taylor's formula.下面举例说明泰乐定理的应用。

6 pessimistic   

adj.悲观的，悲观主义的

参考例句：

• There is no reason to be pessimistic about the future.没有理由对未来悲观。
• The voters are pessimistic about the economy.投票者对经济很悲观。

7 clause   

n.（正式文件或法律文件的）条款，从句，分句

参考例句：

• The sentence consists of a main clause and a subordinate clause.这句中有一个主句和一个从句。
• What clause do you require in the contract?你要求在合同中订上什么条款？

8 productive   

adj.能生产的，有生产价值的，多产的

参考例句：

• We had a productive meeting that solved some problems.我们开了一个富有成效的会议，解决了一些问题。
• Science and technology are part of the productive forces.科学技术是生产力。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。