The Reading / Listening - Level 1

Elon Musk has opened a kind of gym for robots, called OpenAI Gym. Mr Musk is the boss of the companies Tesla Motors and SpaceX. He also founded the online payments website PayPal. OpenAI Gym is a free platform for code writers to test their work on artificial intelligence. They can also share their algorithms. These are rules in a computer program that can solve problems and deal with lots of information.

Mr Musk wrote about why OpenAI Gym is free. He said: "Our goal is to advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole." It follows the idea of rewards for learning – like giving a dog a treat when it learns something new. If an algorithm does well in the gym, it gets a reward. If it fails, it doesn't. Musk wants to develop algorithms that can multi-task; to do many things at the same time, rather than just one thing.

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Sources
  • http://thescienceexplorer.com/technology/elon-musk-launches-ai-gym-make-robot-brains-versatile-our-own
  • http://www.computerworld.com/article/3063674/emerging-technology/elon-musk-opens-virtual-gym-to-train-your-robots.html
  • http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3564752/


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. a kind of gym
  2. the boss of
  3. the online
  4. a free platform for code
  5. artificial
  6. a computer
  7. solve
  8. deal with lots
  1. intelligence
  2. writers to test their work
  3. problems
  4. for robots
  5. of information
  6. the companies
  7. program
  8. payments website PayPal

Paragraph 2

  1. Our goal is to
  2. most likely to benefit
  3. the idea of rewards
  4. giving a dog
  5. If an algorithm does well in the gym,
  6. develop algorithms that
  7. do many things
  8. rather than
  1. it gets a reward
  2. at the same time
  3. advance digital intelligence
  4. just one thing
  5. for learning
  6. humanity as a whole
  7. can multi-task
  8. a treat

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Elon Musk has (1) ___________________ of gym for robots, called OpenAI Gym. Mr Musk (2) ___________________ the companies Tesla Motors and SpaceX. He                                   (3) ___________________ online payments website PayPal. OpenAI Gym is a free platform (4) ___________________ to test their work on (5) ___________________. They can also share their algorithms. These are rules in a computer program that can solve problems and (6) ___________________ of information.

Mr Musk (7) ___________________ OpenAI Gym is free. He said: "Our goal is to advance digital intelligence                         (8) ___________________ is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole." It follows the idea (9) ___________________ learning – like giving a dog (10) ___________________ learns something new. If an algorithm does well in the gym, it gets a reward. If it fails, it doesn't. Musk (11) ___________________ algorithms that can multi-task; to do many things at the same time, rather than (12) ___________________.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

ElonMuskhasopenedakindofgymforrobots,calledOpenAIGym.MrMu
skisthebossofthecompaniesTeslaMotorsandSpaceX.Healsofounded
theonlinepaymentswebsitePayPal.OpenAIGymisafreeplatformforco
dewriterstotesttheirworkonartificialintelligence.Theycanalsosharet
heiralgorithms.Thesearerulesinacomputerprogramthatcansolvepro
blemsanddealwithlotsofinformation.MrMuskwroteaboutwhyOpenAI
Gymisfree.Hesaid:"Ourgoalistoadvancedigitalintelligenceinthewayt
hatismostlikelytobenefithumanityasawhole."Itfollowstheideaofrew
ardsforlearning–likegivingadogatreatwhenitlearnssomethingne
w.Ifanalgorithmdoeswellinthegym,itgetsareward.Ifitfails,itdoesn't.
Muskwantstodevelopalgorithmsthatcanmulti-task;todomanyt
hingsatthesametime,ratherthanjustonething.

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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