VERSION A · LYCÉE GÉNÉRAL · Première: B1+ towards B2 · Terminale: B2 (LVA) · documents reaching towards C1

Session 2: AI that helps

Part 2. How does AI already improve people's lives in health, at home and on the road?

Objectives

Warm-up

Quick vote: Would you get into a car with no driver? Students stand on a scale from 'never' to 'right now' and explain in one sentence.

Documents

Document 2: AI in healthcare. AI tools are used to read medical images such as X-rays and mammograms. They help doctors spot signs of disease earlier, but the final diagnosis remains the doctor's responsibility.
Document 3: Smart assistants. Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri answer voice commands, set reminders and control smart devices. They need a connection to the cloud and regular updates.
Document 4: Waymo. Waymo, a company owned by Alphabet (Google's parent company), runs a self-driving taxi service. Its cars have no one in the driver's seat and use cameras, radar and lidar to navigate traffic. The service operates in cities such as Phoenix and San Francisco.
Easy to find on YouTube: search "Waymo official channel" for a fully autonomous ride video; "Big Hero 6 official trailer", Walt Disney Animation Studios, to compare with the healthcare robot Baymax.

Activities

  1. Jigsaw reading: three groups, three documents, then experts share: What does this AI do? Who benefits? What are the limits?
  2. Grammar: present perfect. Waymo has driven millions of miles. Have you ever used a voice assistant?
  3. Compound nouns: voice command, self-driving car, health care, smart speaker.
  4. Intermediary task (oral production): record a 1 minute video reacting to your first ride in a Waymo car (imagined).

Sentence starters

Role play

Pairs: a patient and a doctor. The patient is worried that an AI read the X-ray. The doctor explains how AI helps and who decides.

Gap-fill worksheet

QR code to this worksheet
Word bank: diagnosis, voice command, navigate, cloud, driverless, radiologist, update, lidar
  1. An AI can help a ______ read X-rays.
  2. The doctor makes the final ______.
  3. You wake up Alexa with a ______.
  4. Smart assistants store data in the ______.
  5. Your assistant needs a regular software ______.
  6. Waymo cars are ______: nobody sits behind the wheel.
  7. They use cameras, radar and ______ to see.
  8. The cars ______ busy city traffic.
Answer key
  1. radiologist
  2. diagnosis
  3. voice command
  4. cloud
  5. update
  6. driverless
  7. lidar
  8. navigate

Homework

Finish and film your Waymo video reaction (1 minute), using at least three verbs in the present perfect.

Assessment grid

CriteriaLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4
FluencyMany long pausesSome pausesMostly fluentFluent and natural
Present perfectNot usedSome attemptsMostly correctCorrect and varied
ContentVery shortBasic accountClear account with feelingsLively account, feelings and opinion
PronunciationHard to understandUnderstandable with effortClearClear with good stress

Links reminder