6 Minute English how?

What can't computers do?
EPISODE 170928 / 28 SEP 2017

Machine thinking is in our homes, offices, schools and hospitals. Computer algorithms are helping us drive our cars. They’re diagnosing what’s wrong with us in hospitals. They’re marking student essays. Neil and Tim talk about artificial intelligence and teach you six items of vocabulary.

This week's question:

What was the name of the computer which famously beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov using algorithms in 1997? Was it…

a) Hal,

b) Alpha 60 or

c) Deep Blue?

Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Vocabulary

artificial intelligence or AI
the ability of machines to copy human intelligent behaviour.

an algorithm
a set of steps a computer follows in order to solve a problem

limitations
a limit on what it can do or how good it can be

take something for granted
when we don’t realise how important something is

to implement
to perform a task, or take action

cutting edge
new and advanced

Transcript

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Neil
Welcome to 6 Minute English, where we bring you an intelligent topic and six related items of vocabulary. I’m Neil.

Tim
And I’m Tim. And today we’re talking about AI – or Artificial Intelligence.

Neil
Artificial Intelligence is the ability of machines to copy human intelligent behaviour – for example, an intelligent machine can learn from its own mistakes, and make decisions based on what’s happened in the past.

Tim
There’s a lot of talk about AI these days, Neil, but it’s still just science fiction, isn’t it?

Neil
That’s not true – AI is everywhere. Machine thinking is in our homes, offices, schools and hospitals. Computer algorithms are helping us drive our cars. They’re diagnosing what’s wrong with us in hospitals. They’re marking student essays… They’re telling us what to read on our smartphones…

Tim
Well, that really does sound like science fiction – but it’s happening already, you say, Neil?

Neil
It’s definitely happening, Tim. And an algorithm, by the way, is a set of steps a computer follows in order to solve a problem. So can you tell me what was the name of the computer which famously beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov using algorithms in 1997? Was it…
a) Hal,
b) Alpha 60 or
c) Deep Blue?

Tim
I’ll say Deep Blue. Although I’m just guessing.

Neil
Was it an educated guess, Tim?

Tim
I know a bit about chess…

Neil
An educated guess is based on knowledge and experience and is therefore likely to be correct. Well, we’ll find out later on how educated your guess was in this case, Tim!

Tim
Indeed. But getting back to AI and what machines can do – are they any good at solving real-life problems? Computers think in zeros and ones don’t they? That sounds like a pretty limited language when it comes to life experience!

Neil
You would be surprised to what those zeroes and ones can do, Tim. Although you’re right that AI does have its limitations at the moment. And if something has limitations there’s a limit on what it can do or how good it can be.

Tim
OK – well now might be a good time to listen to Zoubin Bharhramani, Professor of Information Engineering at the University of Cambridge and deputy director of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence. He’s talking about what limitations AI has at the moment.

INSERT
Zoubin Bharhramani, Professor of Information Engineering at the University of Cambridge and deputy director of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence
I think it’s very interesting how many of the things that we take for granted – we humans take for granted – as being sort of things we don’t even think about like how do we walk, how do we reach, how do we recognize our mother. You know, all these things. When you start to think how to implement them on a computer, you realize that it’s those things that are incredibly difficult to get computers to do, and that’s where the current cutting edge of research is.

Neil
If we take something for granted we