English Lesson (Listening B2): "AI and White-Collar Job Loss" with Discussion

Vocabulary

a) Automation
Korean: 자동화
Chinese: 自动化
Japanese: 自動化
French: automatisation
Spanish: automatización
Portuguese: automação

b) Blue-collar workers (workers doing physical or industrial jobs)
Korean: 육체노동자
Chinese: 蓝领工人
Japanese: ブルーカラー労働者
French: ouvriers
Spanish: trabajadores de cuello azul
Portuguese: trabalhadores de colarinho azul

c) Manual laborers (people doing physical work with their hands)
Korean: 육체 노동자
Chinese: 体力劳动者
Japanese: 肉体労働者
French: travailleurs manuels
Spanish: trabajadores manuales
Portuguese: trabalhadores manuais

d) White-collar (used as an adjective: white-collar skills / professions)
Korean: 사무직의
Chinese: 白领的
Japanese: ホワイトカラーの
French: du secteur tertiaire
Spanish: de oficina
Portuguese: de escritório

e) Threaten (put professions at risk)
Korean: 위협하다
Chinese: 威胁
Japanese: 脅かす
French: menacer
Spanish: amenazar
Portuguese: ameaçar

f) Carry out (perform or complete tasks)
Korean: 수행하다
Chinese: 执行
Japanese: 遂行する
French: effectuer
Spanish: realizar
Portuguese: realizar

Q: Do you think AI could replace your current job in the future? Why or why not? –

Guide Questions
1. What does the speaker say about the twentieth century?
2. What were young people encouraged to do, and why?
3. What does the speaker say about AI today?

 

Discussion

1. How do you think AI will change office jobs in the future?
2. Which office jobs do you think are most in danger because of AI? Why?
3. How should schools and universities prepare students for jobs with AI?
4. What skills will be important for workers in the future?
5. What do you think about big technology companies earning most of the money from AI?
6. What should governments do to help workers who lose their jobs because of AI?
7. How can companies use AI to help workers instead of replacing them?
8. What problems could happen if many office workers lose their jobs?
9. How should money made from AI be shared in society?
10. Who should control AI: governments, companies, or the public? Explain your opinion.

TRANSCRIPT

In the twentieth century, automation changed the job market by replacing many blue-collar workers with machines. Factory workers and manual laborers lost their jobs as companies focused on efficiency and profit. As a result, young people were encouraged to study information technology, software development, and other white-collar skills, which were seen as stable and secure careers. Today, however, artificial intelligence is starting to threaten those same professions. AI can now write code, analyze data, prepare reports, and carry out complex office tasks. Just as machines replaced physical labor in factories, AI is beginning to replace mental and technical work once done by highly educated professionals. White-collar workers, including IT specialists and software developers, now face similar risks to those experienced by blue-collar workers in the past. Most of the benefits from this change go to large technology companies and billionaire investors, which increases inequality. (144 words)