Objectifs globaux : Learn the history of robots, and the current ethical dilemmas.
Objectifs linguistiques : Vocabulary pertaining to AI and robotics.
Objectifs travaillés : Text comprehension, video comprehension.
Resources :
Video: The History of Robots
PDF: The Steam Man & Elektro
PDF: Teaching Robots Right from Wrong
Contents
Two of the first Robots
Read the document and understand.
Read the document progressively:
- 1st read: Read once, highlighting the words you don’t know. See how much you understand.
- Once you’ve finished, create a glossary of new vocabulary, write the translations.
- 2nd read: Read through, referencing the vocabulary. Try to memorise the new words.
- 3rd read: Read through again, try not to look at the glossary.
Now answer the questions.
- Look at the illustration. Describe Elektro and list what he can do.
- Read the text. List what makes Steam Man look human, and explain how he is powered. Draw your version of this robot.
- Use both documents to comment on the way men inmagined the first robots.
On the origins of robots
Research Robots throughout history, and watch a video.
In groups of 2-3. Research the following people/robots/tech. Write a few lines describing what they do/did.
- Talos the bronze guardian.
- Adam Link
- Charles Babbage
- Alan Turing
- Henry Ford
- Shakey, by Stanford
- Eliza, by MIT
- Model 101, by Cyberdyne
- ED-209, by Omnicorp
- Deep Blue, by IBM
- ASIMO, by Honda
- Roomba, by iRobot
- Baxter, by Rethink
- Opportunity, by NASA
Video: The History of Robots
In the same groups. Watch the video and answer the questions:
- Comment on the images of the montage and what they mean about the evolution of robots.
- List the different stages of this evolution, list how people viewed robots, and give examples of technology at the time.
- Research the Turing test. What is it? How does it work?
- Research Turing test example questions. Write the ones you have found.
- What five questions would you ask during a Turing test?
- What is a reverse-Turing test? Can you give an example?
1990s – Robot’s image start to improve – IBM’s Deep Blue computer defeated a chess master.
Teaching robots right from wrong
Read the text and answer the questions
PDF: Teaching Robots Right from Wrong
- Draw what is happening in the first paragraph.
- Rephrase Asimov’s three laws of robotics and say if they are ethical or not.
- Explain if today’s robots are capable of making ethical choices.
- Observe the following sentence: « Asimov’s rules sound good, but the story shows that such simple rules may not be enough. » Rephrase the sentence by using one of the following adverbs: probably – certainly – perhaps
- You are part of the ethics committee of a large robotics industry. Write five rules for today’s robots.
Evaluation
Answer questions about this lesson.