IELTS ADVANCED - AUTOMATION ANXIETY

AUTOMATION ANXIETY & THE FUTURE OF JOBS

Open Ended

If you can travel back in time, what advice would you give to your younger self?

Open Ended

What do you think "AUTOMATION ANXIETY" means?

AUTOMATION ANXIETY

The fear that machines will cause mass unemployment.

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"Will robots take our jobs? "

Open Ended

In your opinion, what job(s) will become OBSOLETE (outdated and useless) in the future (think ~20 years)? Why?

Ex: Drivers (truck drives, taxi drivers, etc.) due to self-driving cars.

You will watch a video about technology replacing jobs. While watching, take note of:

• 1. Which jobs are mentioned

• 2. Reasons why these jobs can be taken over by machines

• *Please switch back to Google Meet to see the video*

Multiple Choice

According to the video, why are bank-tellers deemed replaceable?

• Due to the development of A.I. that can process bank transactions & accounts

• Due to the invention of ATM and Internet Banking services

• Because I don't have any money so why bother going to the bank (T▽T)

Multiple Select

Which TWO of these statements are TRUE (according to the video)?

• Only unskilled or low-skilled jobs (manual laborer, manufacturing workers, etc.) are affected by the transition to automation.

• With new technological advancement comes new jobs opportunities.

• Creative works (music composing, art creating, etc.) are exclusive to humans.

• It is possible that specialized jobs (surgeons, lawyers) can also be automated.

Open Ended

To what extent do you agree with this video? Why?

Open Ended

In your opinion, what jobs will stay IMMUNE from automation?

Nurses vs. Robot health workers

Provided that both the nurse and the robot has the same medical skill set, as a patient, which one would you prefer?

KEY VOCABULARY:

• OBSOLETE (adj) /ˌɑːbsəˈliːt/: outdated & useless => collocation: to BECOME obsolete

• PROSPECT (count. n) /ˈprɑːspekt/: the possibility that sth will happen

  => The prospect of many jobs becoming obsolete filled me with dread. => collocation: career / job / employment prospect

• Blue collar workers = manual laborers ~ unskilled workers

• White collar workers = office workers

• High-skilled jobs (doctors, lawyers, etc.) => highly-skilled workers

• To be DISPLACED by (sth/sb): to be replaced / to be removed from a job

  =>  Factory workers will have been displaced by machines by then.

KEY VOCABULARY (pt. 2)

• To be SUSCEPTIBLE (adj) to sth - /səˈseptəbl/: easily influenced by sth => Certain jobs, such as drivers and travel agents, are deemed highly susceptible to automation.

• To be IMMUNE (adj) to / from sth - /ɪˈmjuːn/: not affected by sth => Meanwhile, jobs that require human connections, such as nurses, are believed by many to be IMMUNE from /to automation.

• COMPUTERIZATION (n)

  => As industries were modernized by computerization, workers' skills became outdated.

• TECHNOLOGICAL UNEMPLOYMENT (n phrase): the loss of jobs due to technology