Archive: I will be back! Terminator or helpful friend?
Class created on 04/10/2022
Main article vocabulary
| Vocabulary | Meaning |
| Showed us a glimpse | This means to see a brief or quick look at something. You don’t see it in full detail, just a quick idea of what might happen. |
| Fantasy | If you describe an idea as ‘fantasy’, you are saying that the idea is unrealistic and will never happen. |
| Humans | Humans are us – men and women. |
| Humanoids | This is a machine / robot that looks like a human. |
| Prototype | A ‘prototype’ is a first example of something. It is not the finished version. It is an example of what it could be like. |
| Produced ‘en masse’ | If you produce something ‘en masse’, you are producing many of them. |
| The path to destruction or prosperity | The path to destruction means the future is not good. You are heading towards problems. If the path is heading towards prosperity, the future is bright and successful. |
| Concerned | If you are ‘concerned’ about something, you are worried about something. |
| A threat to humanity | ‘A threat to something’ means something could negatively affect something and cause it many problems. |
| Changed his stance | This means to change your idea / view on something. |
| Reaped the benefits | If you ‘reap the benefits’, you enjoy the rewards of something because it was successful. |
| Create safeguards | A ‘safeguard’ is something created or done to protect something or people from danger, or something bad from happening. |
| Tampered with | If something is ‘Tampered with’, it is changed to cause damage or harm to something or someone. |
Main Article
It was the year 1984 when the movie ‘Terminator’ was seen around the world and Arnold Schwarzenegger showed us a glimpse of what the future could be like. Machines that look like us walking around doing daily tasks and fighting in wars.
Many thought it was just fantasy and will never happen, but some believed that one day Humanoids would walk the earth side by side with humans.
Around the world, robots have been created to serve you in a restaurant, play football and even cut your hair. Robots have even been developed and used by the military. However, with the technology we have today, they are increasingly looking like us.
Recently, Elon Musk presented the latest prototype of a humanoid robot being developed by the Tesla car company. His name is ‘Optimus’ and when he appeared on stage he waved to the audience and raised his knees to show his moves. They were also shown a video of Optimus watering plants and carrying boxes.
Mr Musk said the robots would be produced en masse, at a cost lower than £17,900, and be available in three to five years.
The path to destruction or prosperity
Many people are concerned with the project. But Mr. Musk said he wanted to solve one of the biggest problems with artificial intelligence: how to make a machine that can replace a human.
In the past, Mr Musk once warned of artificial intelligence being a threat to humanity. But has now changed his stance and said that Tesla wanted to make sure robots did the work while people reaped the benefits. He also said he wanted to do this in a safe way.
People have spoken about the dangers and talked about the movie ‘Terminator’ where killer Humanoid robots took control and killed people.
In response, he said that Tesla was creating safeguards, including a stop button that could not be tampered with.
So, do you think that making robots that look like us en masse is a good idea? Do you think it will be safe? What will we do if robots do all of our jobs? Will robots one day even do the shopping for us or take the kids to school?
Or, will the movie ‘Terminator’ come true and robots will one day take over the world?
Only time will tell.
