Unit6Smartlife,betterlife?

Experiencetheworld

Listening1

Alice: Hey,John,what’snew?

John: Well…myfamilyjustgotasmartspeakerforourhome.Icanaskitanythinganditalwayshasananswer!

Alice: Wow!That’scool!Doyoulikeit?

John: Idon’tknowyet.It’sdefinitelyfun!Butasit’salwayslistening,Idon’tfeelIhaveanyprivacyanymore.

Alice: Yeah,Iunderstandyourconcern.Smarttechnologiesoftenkeeparecordofpeople’sbehavior.

John: Exactly!Itmakesmewonder:Whocanseeallofthisinformationaboutme?

Alice: That’swhysomecountriesarecreatingdataprivacylaws.Switzerland,forexample,hasverystrictdataprivacylaws.They’vealwaystakenprivacyveryseriouslythere.Butothercountriesarequitebehindondataprivacylaws.

John: Whataboutyou?Areyouworriedaboutprivacyaroundsmarttechnologies?

Alice: I’mnotsurehowIfeelaboutit.Mybiggerconcerniswhetherthesesmarttechnologieswilleverbecometoosmart.

John: Whatdoyoumean?

Alice: Whathappensifthesedevicesbecomesmarterthanweare?Whatiftheylearntothinkforthemselvesandmaketheirowndecisions?Whatmighthappenifwecouldnolongercontrolthem?

John: Huh…Ihadn’tthoughtofthat.

Listening2

Imagineacitywherethestreets,parksandbuildingschangeallthetime.Imagineiftheycouldchangeimmediatelytomeetyourneeds.That’stheideabehindanew“smartcity”project.

Inthesmartcity,therewillbecameraseverywhere.Thesecameraswillcollectinformationabouthowpeopleusepublicspaces.Thenthecitywillusethisdatatoimproveitself.

Taketransportasanexample.Manycitieshavestartedusingsmarttrafficlights.Theselightsrespondimmediatelytotrafficsituations.Butthisprojectgoesastepfurther.Inthissmartcity,theroadsthemselveswillrespondtonewconditions.Theycanquicklychangetheirsigns,andevengetwider!

Inwinter,theweatherbecomesverycold.Todealwiththis,theroads