Living with Artificial Intelligence – IELTS Reading Answers

In the IELTS Reading test, you should ideally complete IELTS Reading passages, like Living with Artificial Intelligence from Cambridge IELTS 18 Test 2, in 20 minutes. But, in order to do that, you must practise regularly to be able to scan the given text, highlight keywords using IELTS Reading keyword techniques and locate the answer within this short period.

Here, we will practice the three main kinds of IELTS reading questions, go over the answers to find areas where you can improve, and provide some crucial reading advice to help you ace the test. If you are interested in taking more such tests, don’t hesitate to take the IELTS Reading recent actual tests

Reading Passage for Living with Artificial Intelligence Reading Answers

Go through the Living with Artificial Intelligence IELTS Reading Answers passage given below and prepare yourself for the reading section with this IELTS Reading practice test.

Living with Artificial Intelligence

Powerful artificial intelligence (AI) needs to be reliably aligned with human values, but does this mean AI will eventually have to police those values?

This has been the decade of AI, with one astonishing feat after another. A chess-playing AI that can defeat not only all human chess players, but also all previous human-programmed chess machines, after learning the game in just four hours? That’s yesterday’s news, what’s next? True, these prodigious accomplishments are all in so-called narrow AI, where machines perform highly specialized tasks. But many experts believe this restriction is very temporary. By mid-century, we may have artificial general intelligence (AGI) – machines that can achieve human-level performance on the full range of tasks that we ourselves can tackle.

If so, there’s little reason to think it will stop there. Machines will be free of many of the physical constraints on human intelligence. Our brains run at slow biochemical processing speeds on the power of a light bulb, and their size is restricted by the dimensions of the human birth canal. It is remarkable what they accomplish, given these handicaps. But they may be as far from the physical limits of thought as our eyes are from the incredibly powerful Webb Space Telescope.

Once machines are better than us at designing even smarter machines, progress towards these limits could accelerate. What would this mean for us? Could we ensure a safe and worthwhile coexistence with such machines? On the plus side, AI is already useful and profitable for many things, and super AI might be expected to be super useful and super profitable. But the more powerful AI becomes, the more important it will be to specify its goals with great care. Folklore is full of tales of people who ask for the wrong thing, with disastrous consequences- King Midas, for example, might have wished that everything he touched turned to gold, but didn’t really intend this to apply to his breakfast.

So we need to create powerful AI machines that are ‘human-friendly’- that have goals reliably aligned with our own values. One thing that makes this task difficult is that we are far from reliably human-friendly ourselves. We do many terrible things to each other and to many other creatures with whom we share the planet. If superintendent machines don’t do a lot better than us, we’ll be in deep trouble. We’ll have powerful new intelligence amplifying the dark sides of our own fallible natures.

For safety’s sake, then, we want the machines to be ethically as well as cognitively superhuman. We want them to aim for the moral high ground, not for the troughs in which many of us spend some of our time. Luckily they’ll be smart enough for the job. If there are routes to the moral high ground, they’ll be better than us at finding them, and steering us in the right direction.

However, there are two big problems with this utopian vision. One is how we get the machines started on the journey, the other is what it would mean to reach this destination. The ‘getting started’ problem is that we need to tell the machines what they’re looking for with sufficient clarity that we can be confident they will find it – whatever ‘it’ actually turns out to be. This won’t be easy, given that we are tribal creatures and conflicted about the ideals ourselves. We often ignore the suffering of strangers, and even contribute to it, at least indirectly. How then, do we point machines in the direction of something better?

As for the ‘destination’ problem, we might, by putting ourselves in the hands of these moral guides and gatekeepers, be sacrificing our own autonomy – an important part of what makes us human. Machines who are better than us at sticking to the moral high ground may be expected to discourage some of the lapses we presently take for granted. We might lose our freedom to discriminate in favor of our own communities, for example.

Loss of freedom to behave badly isn’t always a bad thing, of course: denying ourselves the freedom to put children to work in factories, or to smoke in restaurants are signs of progress. But are we ready for ethical silicon police limiting our options? They might be so good at doing it that we won’t notice them; but few of us are likely to welcome such a future.

These issues might seem far-fetched, but they are to some extent already here. AI already has some input into how resources are used in our National Health Service (NHS) here in the UK, for example. If it was given a greater role, it might do so much more efficiently than humans can manage, and act in the interests of taxpayers and those who use the health system. However, we’d be depriving some humans (e.g. senior doctors) of the control they presently enjoy. Since we’d want to ensure that people are treated equally and that policies are fair, the goals of AI would need to be specified correctly.

We have a new powerful technology to deal with- itself, literally, a new way of thinking. For our own safety, we need to point these new thinkers in the right direction, and get them to act well for us. It is not yet clear whether this is possible, but if it is, it will require a cooperative spirit, and a willingness to set aside self-interest.

Both general intelligence and moral reasoning are often thought to be uniquely human capacities. But safety seems to require that we think of them as a package: if we are to give general intelligence to machines, we’ll need to give them moral authority, too. And where exactly would that leave human beings? All the more reason to think about the destination now, and to be careful about what we wish for.

Living with Artificial Intelligence Reading Answers Questions

The IELTS Academic reading passage, Living with Artificial Intelligence, consists of 13 questions. The question types found in the IELTS Reading Answers of Living with Artificial Intelligence are:

• IELTS Reading Multiple Choice Question (Q. 1-6)
• IELTS Reading Yes/No/Not Given (Q. 7-10)
• IELTS Reading Summary Completion (Q. 11-13)

Questions 1- 6

1 What point does the writer make about AI in the first paragraph?

A It is difficult to predict how quickly AI will progress.

B Much can be learned about the use of AI in chess machines.

C The future is unlikely to see limitations on the capabilities of AI.

D Experts disagree on which specialised tasks AI will be able to perform.

2 What is the writer doing in the second paragraph?

A explaining why machines will be able to outperform humans

B describing the characteristics that humans and machines share

C giving information about the development of machine intelligence

Dindicating which aspects of humans are the most advanced

3 Why does the writer mention the story of King Midas?

A to compare different visions of progress

B to illustrate that poorly defined objectives can go wrong

C to emphasise the need for cooperation

D to point out the financial advantages of a course of action

4 What challenge does the writer refer to in the fourth paragraph?

A encouraging humans to behave in a more principled way

B deciding which values we want AI to share with us

C creating a better world for all creatures on the planet

D ensuring AI is more human-friendly than we are ourselves

5 What does the writer suggest about the future of AI in the fifth paragraph?

A The safety of machines will become a key issue.

B It is hard to know what impact machines will have on the world.

C Machines will be superior to humans in certain respects.

D Many humans will oppose machines having a wider role.

6 Which of the following best summarises the writer’s argument in the sixth paragraph?

A More intelligent machines will result in greater abuses of power.

B Machine learning will share very few features with human learning.

C There are a limited number of people with the knowledge to program machines.

D Human shortcomings will make creating the machines we need more difficult.

Questions 7- 10

7 Machines with the ability to make moral decisions may prevent us from promoting the interests of our communities.

8 Silicon police would need to exist in large numbers in order to be effective.

9 Many people are comfortable with the prospect of their independence being restricted by machines.

10 If we want to ensure that machines act in our best interests, we all need to work together.

Questions 11- 13

Using AI in the UK health system

AI currently has a limited role in the way 11___________ are allocated in the health service. The positive aspect of AI having a bigger role is that it would be more efficient and lead to patient benefits. However, such a change would result, for example, in certain 12___________ not having their current level of 13___________ . It is therefore important that AI goals are appropriate so that discriminatory practices could be avoided.

Answers of Living with Artificial Intelligence Reading Passage With Location and Explanation

Have a look at the Living with Artificial Intelligence answer key with detailed explanation and answer location. It will help you tally your answers as well as give you an idea of which question type to focus on achieving a good IELTS band score in the reading module.

1 Answer: C

Question type: Multiple-Choice Questions

Answer location: Paragraph 1, Line 5 – Line 6

Answer explanation: In the given location, it is given that “But many experts believe this restriction is very temporary. By mid-century, we may have artificial general intelligence (AGI) – machines that can achieve human-level performance on the full range of tasks that we ourselves can tackle.”. This shows that the author thinks that in the near future, there will be no restrictions or limitations of AI and it will achieve human-level performance. Hence, the answer is C (The future is unlikely to see limitations on the capabilities of AI.).

2 Answer: A

Question type: Multiple-Choice Questions

Answer location: Paragraph 2, Line 2 – Line 4

Answer explanation: In the specified paragraph, it is stated that “Machines will be free of many of the physical constraints on human intelligence. Our brains run at slow biochemical processing speeds on the power of a light bulb, and their size is restricted by the dimensions of the human birth canal. It is remarkable what they accomplish…”. This shows that in the second paragraph, it is said machines are free from physical limitations that will enable them to outperform humans. Hence, the answer is A (explaining why machines will be able to outperform humans).

3 Answer: B

Question type: Multiple-Choice Questions

Answer location: Paragraph 3, Line 6

Answer explanation: In the mentioned location, it is given that “Folklore is full of tales of people who ask for the wrong thing, with disastrous consequences- King Midas, for example…”. The author, through the example of King Midas, wants to inform the readers that if objectives are not properly defined or are wrong, it leads to wrong results. Hence, the answer is B (to illustrate that poorly defined objectives can go wrong).

4 Answer: D

Question type: Multiple-Choice Questions

Answer location: Paragraph 4, Line 1 – Line 3

Answer explanation: In the fourth paragraph, it is specified that “…we need to create powerful AI machines that are ‘human-friendly’- that have goals reliably aligned with our own values… we are far from reliably human-friendly ourselves. We do many terrible things to each other and to many other creatures with whom we share the planet.”. In other words, the fourth paragraph points out that AI should be made more human-friendly than humans are towards each other. Hence, the answer is D (ensuring AI is more human-friendly than we are ourselves).

5 Answer: C

Question type: Multiple-Choice Questions

Answer location: Paragraph 5, Line 3

Answer explanation: In the above-mentioned paragraph, it is stated that “Luckily they’ll be smart enough for the job.”. It can be pointed out that the AI machines will be made in such a way that they are ethically and cognitively better than humans. Hence, the answer is C (Machines will be superior to humans in certain respects.).

6 Answer: D

Question type: Multiple-Choice Questions

Answer location: Paragraph 6, Line 4

Answer explanation: In the specific line, it is mentioned that “This won’t be easy, given that we are tribal creatures and conflicted about the ideals ourselves.”. In other words, creating AI machines is difficult because humans are themselves conflicted, which has become a major shortcoming. Hence, the answer is D (Human shortcomings will make creating the machines we need more difficult.).

7 Answer: Yes

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 7, Line 2

Answer explanation: Through a reference line like, “Machines who are better than us at sticking to the moral high ground may be expected to discourage some of the lapses we presently take for granted.”, it can be concluded that the AI machines with the ability to make moral decisions (better at sticking to the moral high ground) may prevent (discourage) us from promoting the interests of humans. As the statement agrees with the writer’s claims, the answer is Yes.

8 Answer: Not Given

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: N.A.

Answer explanation: Although there are references to silicon police, there is no information that they would need to exist in large numbers in order to be effective. Hence, the answer is Not Given.

9 Answer: No

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 8, Line 3

Answer explanation: In Paragraph 8, it is stated that “They might be so good at doing it that we won’t notice them; but few of us are likely to welcome such a future.”. This statement indicates that the restrictions put by the AI machines will be so subtle that humans might not even notice it and some people might accept it. The statement above shows that there is a probability (likely) that people might accept this. As there is a lack of clarity on the acceptance, the answer is No.

10 Answer: Yes

Question type: Yes/No/Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph 10, Line 2 – Line 3

Answer explanation: In the cited location, it is stated that “For our own safety, we need to point these new thinkers in the right direction, and get them to act well for us. It is not yet clear whether this is possible, but if it is, it will require a cooperative spirit, and a willingness to set aside self-interest.”. Based on this reference, it can be concluded that the writer opines that humans need to work together (cooperative spirit) in order to make the AI machines act in their best interests. As the statement agrees with the writer’s claims, the answer is Yes.

11 Answer: C

Question type: Summary Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 9, Line 2

Answer explanation: The given line specifies that “AI already has some input into how resources are used in our National Health Service (NHS) here in the UK, for example.”. It is indicated that the AI machines have already played their limited role based on the resources allocated to them. Hence, the answer is C (available resources).

12 Answer: A

Question type: Summary Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 9, Line 4

Answer explanation: In the paragraph, it is given, “However, we’d be depriving some humans (e.g. senior doctors) of the control they presently enjoy.”. This reference proves that the benefits provided by the AI machines in the health industry would lead to replacing some medical practitioners. Hence, the answer is A (medical practitioners).

13 Answer: E

Question type: Summary Completion

Answer location: Paragraph 9, Line 4

Answer explanation: In the cited line, it is written that “However, we’d be depriving some humans (e.g. senior doctors) of the control they presently enjoy.”. It can be concluded that some medical professionals would lose their professional authority if they are working properly and AI machines can easily replace them. Hence, the answer is E (professional authority).

Tips for Answering the Question Types in the Living with Artificial Intelligence IELTS Reading Answers

You might know the solutions to the questions in the passages, Living with Artificial Intelligence, but that might not be enough when you want to give your hundred percent on IELTS Academic Reading. So, let us have a quick revision of tips on how to solve the questions types in Living with Artificial Intelligence.

Multiple-Choice Questions:

You will be given a reading passage followed by several questions based on the information in the paragraph in multiple-choice questions. Your task is to understand the question and compare it to the paragraph in order to select the best solution from the available possibilities. To answer this type of question, you can use the following IELTS exam preparation tips:

• Read the question and choose the keywords before reading the passage. If the query sentence is lacking in information, look into keyword possibilities.
• Then read the passage using the keywords to identify the important information.
• Read the essential words carefully and match them with each choice to select the proper option.
• There are various possibilities with keywords that do not match the information.
• Try to use the elimination process as much as possible.
• Match the meaning rather than the terms to find the best solution.

Yes/No/Not Given

Unlike IELTS Reading True/False/Not Given questions, ‘Yes/No/Not Given’ questions are based on opinions, views and beliefs of the author of the reading passage. A few statements will be provided to you, and it is up to you to determine whether they conform with the views/opinions of the writer by reading the text.

• Always begin by reading the question and identifying the keywords. Before reading the material, have a look at your list of Yes, No, and Not Given questions.
• You need to scan the passage for synonyms or paraphrased words of the keywords. Once you have highlighted the keywords, swiftly read the text to look for paraphrases or synonyms.
• Matching highlighted words, or keywords in the questions with their synonyms in the text is the best way to figure out the answer. Once you find both sets of keywords, cross-check them to find the answer.
• Do NOT waste time if you are confused. If the facts match, the answer is YES, and in case it doesn’t match, it is NO. If you are unable to find the answer or unsure of it, mark it NOT GIVEN.

Summary Completion:

Summary Completion is a type of question in IELTS Reading that requires you to fill in a gap in a paragraph with a word or phrase from the passage. To answer summary completion questions, you can use the following strategies:

• Read the sentences carefully: This will give you an idea of the type of word or phrase that is missing.
• Scan the passage for the keywords: The keywords in the sentence can help you to identify the correct word or phrase.
• Read the sentence with the missing word or phrase: This will help you to see how the word or phrase fits into the sentence.
• Check your answer: Once you have filled in the gap, make sure that your answer makes sense in the context of the sentence.

In conclusion, IELTS Reading samples like Living with Artificial Intelligence – IELTS Reading Answers are essential to the reading exam preparation. They assist you in becoming more accustomed to the style of the test, increasing your reading speed, and figuring out your areas of weakness. So, continue to take such test and achieve your desired results.

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