Innovations scientifiques et responsabilité : Musk vs Zuckerberg (évaluation 2, sujet 0, 2019)
Énoncé
Tech billionaires Zuckerberg and Elon Musk battle it out for AI
« Two of the world's richest and most intelligent men are arguing about the future of artificial intelligence (AI).
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are locked in a very public feud over artificial intelligence.
Musk has repeatedly warned about the dangers of AI, describing it as a potentially existential threat to the human race.
Zuckerberg has a different take. On Sunday, he took questions live over the internet while barbecuing beef brisket at his backyard in Palo Alto, California. He responded to a question about Elon Musk's warnings by saying he was tired of the fear-mongering.
"With AI especially, I'm really optimistic", Zuckerberg said during the live broadcast. "I think that people who are naysayers and kind of try to drum up these doomsday scenarios—I just, I don't understand it. I think it's really negative and in some ways I actually think it is pretty irresponsible."
Musk shot back on Tuesday morning with a tweet saying, "I've talked to Mark about this. His understanding of the subject is limited." He added that a movie on the subject of AI was "coming soon", but didn't provide details about the film or his involvement.
Musk ignited a global discussion on the perils of AI in 2014. He predicted that humans might be doomed if we make machines that are smarter than us. He said in a recent interview that his warnings haven't been heeded. Musk, who's leading space exploration projects and major tunneling initiatives, is now trying to develop AI that he hopes will have a positive impact on humanity. He's heading up a startup that intends to build devices to connect the human brain with computers.
Zuckerberg is no stranger to AI. He worked last year on developing an artificial intelligence system to help run his life and his home. After about 100 hours of work, he posted a video at the end of 2016 showcasing an AI system called Jarvis, which is voiced by the actor Morgan Freeman.
In his broadcast, Zuckerberg said AI could be a force for good because it helps power self-driving cars and diagnose illnesses. "If you're arguing against AI, then you're arguing against safer cars that aren't going to have accidents. And you're arguing against being able to better diagnose people when they are sick. I just don't see how, in good conscience, some people can do that. I'm just much more optimistic on it than probably a lot of folks are," Zuckerberg said.
"In the next 5-10 years, AI is going to deliver so many improvements in the quality of our lives," he added.
Musk, who has been warning about intelligent robots causing massive job losses and potentially gaining uncontrollable autonomy, responded to Zuckerberg after a social network user posted the tech billionnaire's comments.
Musk, founder of a space company, says humans have to consider colonising other worlds and even merging with machines to maintain the upper hand over robots that "will be able to do everything better than us". »
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are locked in a very public feud over artificial intelligence.
Musk has repeatedly warned about the dangers of AI, describing it as a potentially existential threat to the human race.
Zuckerberg has a different take. On Sunday, he took questions live over the internet while barbecuing beef brisket at his backyard in Palo Alto, California. He responded to a question about Elon Musk's warnings by saying he was tired of the fear-mongering.
"With AI especially, I'm really optimistic", Zuckerberg said during the live broadcast. "I think that people who are naysayers and kind of try to drum up these doomsday scenarios—I just, I don't understand it. I think it's really negative and in some ways I actually think it is pretty irresponsible."
Musk shot back on Tuesday morning with a tweet saying, "I've talked to Mark about this. His understanding of the subject is limited." He added that a movie on the subject of AI was "coming soon", but didn't provide details about the film or his involvement.
Musk ignited a global discussion on the perils of AI in 2014. He predicted that humans might be doomed if we make machines that are smarter than us. He said in a recent interview that his warnings haven't been heeded. Musk, who's leading space exploration projects and major tunneling initiatives, is now trying to develop AI that he hopes will have a positive impact on humanity. He's heading up a startup that intends to build devices to connect the human brain with computers.
Zuckerberg is no stranger to AI. He worked last year on developing an artificial intelligence system to help run his life and his home. After about 100 hours of work, he posted a video at the end of 2016 showcasing an AI system called Jarvis, which is voiced by the actor Morgan Freeman.
In his broadcast, Zuckerberg said AI could be a force for good because it helps power self-driving cars and diagnose illnesses. "If you're arguing against AI, then you're arguing against safer cars that aren't going to have accidents. And you're arguing against being able to better diagnose people when they are sick. I just don't see how, in good conscience, some people can do that. I'm just much more optimistic on it than probably a lot of folks are," Zuckerberg said.
"In the next 5-10 years, AI is going to deliver so many improvements in the quality of our lives," he added.
Musk, who has been warning about intelligent robots causing massive job losses and potentially gaining uncontrollable autonomy, responded to Zuckerberg after a social network user posted the tech billionnaire's comments.
Musk, founder of a space company, says humans have to consider colonising other worlds and even merging with machines to maintain the upper hand over robots that "will be able to do everything better than us". »
Adapted from http://mydigitalfc.com (The Financial Chronicle), Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Compréhension écrite
Attention : il ne faut pas citer les documents. Vous devez répondre aux questions en anglais avec vos propres mots.
a. After reading the text, what can you say about:
• the main topic of the text?
• the people involved?
• their opinions on the topic?
Il convient de repérer dans le document tout ce qui relève du sujet principal, des gens impliqués et de leurs avis sur le sujet. Ne vous contentez pas d'informations minimalistes. (Il n'y a que deux questions de compréhension et la deuxième porte sur le tout dernier paragraphe du document.)
b. Comment on the following paragraph and explain Musk's feelings on the topic: "Musk says humans have to consider colonising other worlds and even merging with machines to maintain the upper hand over robots that "will be able to do everything better than us'."
On vous demande d'analyser cette affirmation afin d'expliciter les sentiments de Musk sur le sujet.
Expression écrite
Question A
You participate in a science competition: "The perfect robot". Participants must create a robot that will improve people's lives. The winner will receive $10,000 to build a prototype. Write a speech to present your idea of the perfect robot to the jury.Comprendre la question
Il s'agit de rédiger un discours pour présenter votre idée du robot parfait qui va améliorer la vie des gens. (120 mots c'est court : mieux vaut être concis.)Mobiliser ses connaissances
Pour défendre votre projet, il faut mobiliser :- l'expression du futur : will + V,
- les expressions de capacité :
- can + V (will be able to + V), be capable of + Ving, know how to + V,
- ensure that S + V,
- enable C to + V ;
- le lexique des actions à accomplir par le robot ;
- les adjectifs pour le décrire :
- efficient / intelligent / time-saving / economical / ecological
Procéder par étapes
1. Préparez vos idées :
- les pouvoirs de votre robot ;
- les arguments pour défendre votre projet.
2. Organisez votre plan : introduction, développement, conclusion.
3. Rédigez votre discours en respectant votre plan et en veillant à éviter les redondances.
4. Contrôlez la précision linguistique de votre brouillon (grammaire, lexique) puis recopiez-le au propre.
Question B
Who do you agree most with? Why? |
Comprendre la question
La question vous invite à réagir par rapport aux prises de position des deux entrepreneurs et à dire lequel des deux propose des idées les plus proches des vôtres. Il s'agit donc d'un texte argumentatif, qui devra toutefois être concis.Mobiliser ses connaissances
Pour un texte argumentatif, il faut mobiliser :- les expressions d'opinion :
- in my opinion / to my mind / from my point of view / personally,
- I (really) believe / I (honestly) think … ;
- les expressions d'accord et de désaccord :
- I agree with / approve of,
- I disagree with / I disapprove of,
- I'm wary of / unsure about / not convinced that ;
- les mots de liaison pour articuler votre discours :
- en renforcement : indeed, moreover, what's more,
- pour marquer une opposition : however, and yet, on the one hand … on the other hand,
- pour exprimer la concession : even if, although.
Procéder par étapes
1. Préparez vos idées :
- votre réaction par rapport aux propos de chacun des entrepreneurs ;
- votre propre positionnement sur la question.
2. Organisez votre plan : courte introduction, votre réaction par rapport aux propos de chacun, votre propre positionnement en guise de conclusion.
3. Rédigez votre essai en respectant votre plan et en veillant à éviter les redondances.
4. Contrôlez la précision linguistique de votre brouillon (grammaire, lexique) puis recopiez-le au propre.
Corrigé
Compréhension écrite
Questions on text 1
a. Both the title of this newspaper extract and the first line are explicit: the article deals with a difference of opinion about Artificial Intelligence between two giants in the world of technology, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook and Elon Musk, founder of several technological businesses including a space company. The two men's ideas are radically opposed: while Zuckerberg believes that artificial intelligence has a vital role to play in the future of humanity, Musk insists on the danger of letting AI take over our lives. Their disagreement is being publicly voiced in the media and on social networks: Zuckerberg has given a live interview on the internet from his home, while Musk has used tweeter as well as giving interviews. Both men are trying to integrate AI into their business projects. Musk is looking at connecting the human brain to a computer, and Zuckerberg has developed an AI system called Jarvis to help run his home and organise his life. However, Musk remains alarmist, claiming that robots with AI are responsible for rising unemployment and that they risk becoming uncontrollable. In contrast, Zuckerberg is more confident. He thinks AI will improve our everyday lives and gives the example of driverless cars or the correct diagnosis of illness and diseases.
b. Musk expresses a genuine fear that AI in the form of robots may be able to dominate human beings unless we take steps to protect ourselves. He recommends two courses of action: developing a stronger partnership with machines to ensure we control the robots and establishing settlements on other planets.
Expression écrite
Question A
Ladies and gentlemen,The robot I intend to develop will help each and every one of us to live better, live longer and live in happiness. It will be programmed to help each citizen conform to the rules of society while enabling him or her to develop their personality and fulfil their ambitions.
It will ensure that each member of the household adopts an ecological, healthy and well-balanced lifestyle, inciting the children to go out and play when their screen time is excessive and helping adults achieve their 10,000 paces a day and consume five fruit and vegetables.
This robot will only do something instead of a human, if the human being's vitality is at risk. It will assist, encourage, but ensure that humans continue to move, think, act and react. It will be non-intrusive, but ever present, like a small voice in our minds to ensure that humanity continues to thrive.
Question B
Personally, I am rather wary of a society centred on Artificial Intelligence. People have already become addicted to social networks, and human interaction is becoming more and more virtual. People interact via their avatar or pseudo instead of meeting up and talking face to face and they end up privileging a virtual persona that is completely fake instead of living for themselves.Zuckerberg claims that AI will reduce illness, but I honestly think most people would prefer to interact with a flesh and blood doctor. Good health isn't just about what is going on inside your organs; your mental make-up is just as important and a machine doesn't have the necessary psychological skills or compassion to talk about that.
As for Musk, although I totally approve of his precautionary attitude, I'm not totally convinced that his vision of colonising other planets is anything other than a publicity stunt for his own enrichment…
In short, I would recommend using humanity to save humanity!
