What’s New? Sentient Robots and The Future.

Speaking Practice. Greetings in American English.

English Grammar. Simple Past and Past Continuous.

Zombies and aliens may not be a realistic threat to our species. But  there’s one stock movie villain we can’t be so sanguine about: sentient  robots. If anything, their arrival is probably just a matter of time.  But what will a world of conscious machines be like? Will there be a  place in it for us?

Artificial intelligence research has been going through a recent  revolution. AI systems can now outperform humans at playing chess and  Go, recognizing faces, and driving safely. Even so, most researchers say  truly conscious machines — ones that don’t just run programs but have  feelings and are self-aware — are decades away. First, the reasoning  goes, researchers have to build a generalized intelligence, a single  machine with the above talents and the capacity to learn more. Only then  will AI reach the level of sophistication needed for consciousness. But  some think it won’t take nearly that long.

Matt: Good morning.

Maxine: Good morning. How are you today?

Matt: Just fine, thanks. How are you?

Maxine: Wonderful. Things couldn’t be better.

Dotty: Hi. What’s up?

Vivian: Nothing much. What’s new with you?

Dotty: Not too much. I’ve been pretty busy.

Vivian: Me too. Seems like all I do is eat and sleep.

Dotty: Gotta go. Call me tonight.

Vivian: Okay. Check you later.

Mother: Good morning.

Son: Morning. What’s for breakfast?

Mother: The usual. Eggs, toast, and cereal. Coffee, if you want.

Son: I think I’ll just have cereal for a change.

Mother: Help yourself. The cereal and sugar are on the table. The milk’s in the refrigerator.

When to use the Past Continuous? 

To talk about things that were in progress in the past.

Past Continuous Positive

To form the past continuous positive, use subject + (to be) + verb + -ing

I / He / She / It was studying

You / We / They were studying