2020-2021学年度第26期总第820期
Future of AI (P6)
北京中学 李萍

Lead-in
  
What is AI?
What do you already know about AI?
 
 
   It is a new technology science that studies and develops the theories, methods, techniques and applications for simulating, extending and expanding human intelligence. Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science that attempts to understand the essence of intelligence and produce a new intelligent machine that can react in a similar way to human intelligence.

What do you already know about AI?
 
Predict
In what other fields will AI be used in 2021?
  
Read and explore
Read the passage and find out what aspects of AI are introduced.
AI trends for 2021
Smarter analytics
Automated detection and prevention
Predicting behavioral changes
Pandemic prevention

Read the passage and find out how AI will be applied in these fields.
AI trends for 2021
What     Ability    Why
Smarter analytics        
Automated detection and prevention        
Predicting behavioral changes        
Pandemic prevention        

Read the passage and find out how AI will be applied in these fields.
AI trends for 2021
What     Ability    Why
Smarter analytics

    Find solutions to deal with cancer;
spot outbreaks of COVID-19;
track contact between infected people;
enable more accurate diagnoses;
predict virus' possible evolution;
develop more effective and lasting vaccines.    To save people's lives

Read the passage and find out how AI will be applied in these fields.
AI trends for 2021
What     Ability    Why
Automated detection and prevention

    More AI-driven surveillance;
detect lockdown breakers;
track movements of those displaying symptoms within a crowd;
record people's whereabouts.
    Enable tracing system to prevent further outbreaks and ensure public safety. 

Read the passage and find out how AI will be applied in these fields.
AI trends for 2021
What     Ability    Why
Predicting behavioral changes

    Provide tools for self-service access to e-commerce.    To help businesses learn more about consumers’ habitual behaviors and personalities during the pandemic.

Read the passage and find out how AI will be applied in these fields.
AI trends for 2021
What     Ability    Why
Pandemic prevention

    Build systems that can accurately predict when and where future outbreaks will take place;
get access to medical datasets through global cooperation.
    To help people take preventive measures to stop pandemic outbreaks from happening.

Think and share
Apart from what has been introduced in the passage, in what other fields can AI be used?
 
    agriculture
    medical analysis
    auto industry
    space exploration
    security system
    banking system
    …

Think and share
AI is playing an increasingly important role in our life. What do you think of using AI in your life?

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly changing our society. For example, facial recognition technology is used every day. AI helps people find what they’ve been looking for by tracking their searches and it can even help increase productivity (just think of Alexa and Siri). There are even more versatile uses in medicine, law, architecture, etc.
But as a saying goes, each coin has two sides, and so does AI. On the one hand, AI can help us do all kinds of things. It can be applied to industrial production. It also can bring great convenience to our daily life. For example, AI can calculate and think instead of us. The study of artificial intelligence can help resolve all kinds of scientific problems and promote the development of other sciences. On the other hand, as AI progresses, we may come to depend on it too much and find ourselves getting lazier and lazier. It may in fact hinder future generations from developing skills on their own and could threaten long-term survival.
As far as I am concerned, we must develop and utilize AI under the premise that its development is good for us, but only if we continue to grow as well.

Express yourself
Suppose your school is going to hold a science and technology festival and you are planning to participate. Please prepare an oral introduction on AI to present at the festival. The following should be included:
    What is AI?
    How has AI helped people’s lives during the COVID-19 pandemic?
    What differences has AI made in your life?
    What do you think AI will be like in the future?

Homework
Search for more information online about AI and finish your report.