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Taking the stress out of surgery: Lingohack video

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Learn the vocab: prepped, localised anaesthetic, sedation, operating table, undergoing

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Virtual Reality Therapy: helping old people remember

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BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / Robot Artists

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Robots can perform many tasks, but they're now being introduced in social care to operate as carers, to look after the sick and elderly. But is a robot carer able to have empathy? We'll be discussing the positive and negative issues around this and teach some new vocabulary.

This week's question

In which year was the first commercial robot built? Was it...

a) 1944
b) 1954, or
c) 1964

Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Vocabulary

physical assistance
describes helping someone by touching or feeling them

companion
someone who is with you and keeps you company

tight
(in the context of money) there is not enough

abandoned
left alone in a place, usually forever

ethics
the study of what is morally right

Transcript

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript

Rob
Hello. This is 6 Minute English. I'm Rob. And joining me to do this is Sam.

Rob
In this programme, we're talking about robots. Robots can perform many tasks, but they're now being introduced in social care to operate as carers, to look after the sick and elderly. We'll be discussing the positive and negative issues around this but first, let's set you a question to answer, Sam. Are you ready for this?

Sam
Fire away.

Rob
Do you know in which year was the first commercial robot built? Was it in ...

a) 1944

b) 1954, or

c) 1964?

Sam
They're not a brand new invention, so I'll go for 1954.

Rob
OK, we'll I'll tell you if you're right or wrong, at the end of the programme. So, let's talk more about robots, and specifically ones that are designed to care for people. Traditionally, it's humans working as nurses or carers who take care of elderly people - those people who are too old or too unwell to look after themselves.

Sam
But finding enough carers to look after people is a problem - there are more people needing care than there are people who can help. And recently in the UK, the government announced a £34 million fund to help develop robots to look after us in our later years.

Well, robot carers are being developed but can they really learn enough empathy to take care of the elderly and unwell? Empathy is the ability to understand how someone feels by imagining what it would be like to be in that person's situation.

Sam
Well, let's hear about one of these new robots now, called Pepper. Abbey Hearn-Nagaf is a research assistant at the University of Bedfordshire. She spoke to BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme and explained how Pepper is first introduced to someone in a care home...

Abbey Hearn-Nagaf, research assistant, University of Bedfordshire
We just bring the robot to their room. And we talk about what Pepper can't do, which is important so we can't provide physical assistance in any way. It does have hands, it can wave... when you ask for privacy, it does turn around and sort of cover its eyes with its hands but that's the most it does. It doesn't grip anything, it doesn't move anything because we're more interested to see how it works as a companion - having something there to talk to, to converse with, to interact with.

Rob
So, Abbey described how the robot is introduced to someone.

Sam
Well, having a companion is a good way to stop people getting lonely, but surely a human is better for that - surely they understand you better than a robot ever can?

Rob
Well, innovation means that robots are becoming cleverer all the time. And as we've mentioned, in the UK alone there is a growing elderly population and more than 100,000 care assistant vacancies. Who is going to do all the work?

Sam
I think we should hear from Dr Sarah Woodin, a health researcher in independent living from Leeds University, who also spoke to the BBC's You and Yours programme. She seems more realistic about the introduction of robot carers.

Dr Sarah Woodin, Leeds University
I think there are problems if we consider robots as replacement for people. We know that money is tight - if robots become mass-produced there could be large institutions where people might be housed and abandoned to robots ... I do think questions of ethics need to come into the growth and jobs agenda as well because sometimes they're treated very separately.

Rob
OK, so Sarah Woodin suggests that when money is tight - meaning there is only just enough - making robots in large quantities - or mass-produced - might be a cheaper option than using humans. And she says people might be abandoned to robots.

Rob
Well you didn't need a robot to help you there because you are right. Well done!

Rob
OK, thank you, Sam. Well, we've managed to get through 6 Minute English without the aid of a robot. That's all for now but please join us again soon. Goodbye!

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BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / Can robots care for us?

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Robots can perform many tasks, but they're now being introduced in social care to operate as carers, to look after the sick and elderly. But is a robot carer able to have empathy? We'll be discussing the positive and negative issues around this and teach some new vocabulary.

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Sometimes it can be difficult to tell if someone is really smiling or the smirk on their face is fake. But now there are computers that are able tell real smiles from fake ones better than humans can. How do they work and what are the benefits? It's something Neil and Sam are discussing in 6 Minute English - as well as teaching you some useful vocabulary that will hopefully bring a smile to your face.

This week's question

The expressions we can make with our face are controlled by muscles. How many muscles do we have in our face? Is it:

Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Vocabulary

facial
adjective to do with the face

to infer
to come to a decision about something using the information you have, which may not be complete

in real time
at the same time as, without delay

to induce
to cause something to happen

genuine
real, not fake

to figure out
to calculate, to work out

Transcript

Note: This is not a word for word transcript

Neil
Hello. This is 6 Minute English, I'm Neil.

Neil
It's good to see you again, Sam.

Neil
Yes, of course, can't you tell by the way I'm smiling?

Sam
Ah well, I find it difficult to tell if someone is really smiling or if it's a fake smile.

Neil
Well, that's a coincidence because today's programme is all about how computers may be able tell real smiles from fake smiles better than humans can. Before we get in to that though, a question. The expressions we can make with our face are controlled by muscles. How many muscles do we have in our face? Is it:

What do you think, Sam?

Sam
No idea! But a lot, I'd guess, so I'm going with 62.

Neil
OK. Well, we'll see if you'll be smiling or crying later in the programme. Hassan Ugail is a professor of visual computing at the University of Bradford. He's been working on getting computers to be able to recognise human emotions from the expressions on our face. Here he is speaking on the BBC Inside Science radio programme - how successful does he say they have been?

Professor Hassan Ugail
We've been working quite a lot on the human emotions, so the idea is how the facial muscle movement, which is reflected on the face, through obviously a computer through video frames and trying to understand how these muscle movements actually relate to facial expressions and then from facial expressions trying to understand the emotions or to infer the emotions. And they have been quite successful in doing that. We have software that can actually look at somebody's face in real time and then identify the series of emotions that person is expressing in real time as well.

Neil
So, have they been successful in getting computers to identify emotions?

Sam
Yes, he says they've been quite successful, and what's interesting is that he says that the computers can do it in real time. This means that there's no delay. They don't have to stop and analyse the data, or crunch the numbers, they can do it as the person is talking.

Neil
The system uses video to analyse a person's expressions and can then infer the emotions. To infer something means to get an understanding of something without actually being told directly. So, you look at available information and use your understanding and knowledge to work out the meaning.

Sam
It's a bit like being a detective, isn't it? You look at the clues and infer what happened even if you don't have all the details.

Neil
Yes, and in this case the computer looks at how the movement of muscles in the face or facial muscles, show different emotions. Here's Professor Ugail again.

Professor Hassan Ugail
We've been working quite a lot on the human emotions so the idea is how the facial muscle movement, which is reflected on the face, through obviously a computer through video frames and trying to understand how these muscle movements actually relate to facial expressions and then from facial expressions trying to understand the emotions or to infer the emotions. And they have been quite successful in doing that. We have software that can actually look at somebody's face in real time and then identify the series of emotions that person is expressing in real time as well.

Neil
So, how do the computers know what is a real or a fake smile? The computers have to learn that first. Here's Professor Ugail again talking about how they do that.

Professor Hassan Ugail
We have a data set of real smiles and we have a data set of fake smiles. These real smiles are induced smiles in a lab. So, you put somebody on a chair and then show some funny movies and we expect the smiles are genuine smiles. And similarly we ask them to pretend to smile. So, these are what you'd call fake smiles. So, what we do is we throw these into the machine and then the machine figures out what are the characteristics of a real smile and what are the characteristics of a fake smile.

Neil
So, how do they get the data that the computers use to see if your smile is fake or genuine - which is another word which means real?

Sam
They induce real smiles in the lab by showing people funny films. This means that they make the smiles come naturally. They assume that the smiles while watching the funny films are genuine.

Neil
And then they ask the people to pretend to smile and the computer programme now has a database of real and fake smiles and is able to figure out which is which.

Sam
Figure out means to calculate and come to an answer

Neil
Yes, and apparently the system gets it right 90% of the time, which is much higher than we humans can. Right, well before we remind ourselves of our vocabulary, let's get the answer to the question. How many muscles do we have in our face? Is it:

Sam, are you going to be smiling? What did you say?

Sam
So I thought 62! Am I smiling, Neil?

Neil
Sadly you are not, you are using different muscles for that sort of sad look! Actually the answer is 43. Congratulations to anyone who got that right. Now our vocabulary.

Sam
Yes - facial is the adjective relating to face.

Neil
Then we had infer. This verb means to understand something even when you don't have all the information, and you come to this understanding based on your experience and knowledge, or in the case of a computer, the programming.

Sam
And these computers work in real time, which means that there's no delay and they can tell a fake smile from a genuine one, which means a real one, as the person is speaking.

Neil
They made people smile, or as the Professor said, they induced smiles by showing funny films.

Sam
And the computer is able to figure out or calculate whether the smile is fake or genuine.

Neil
OK, thank you, Sam. That's all from 6 Minute English today. We look forward to your company next time and if you can't wait you can find lots more from bbclearningenglish online, on social media and on our app. Goodbye!

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BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / Faking it: Computers that spot a real smile

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Sometimes it can be difficult to tell if someone is really smiling or the smirk on their face is fake. But now there are computers that are able tell real smiles from fake ones better than humans can. How do they work and what are the benefits?

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About ten million people in the UK now use a smart speaker, and they're gaining popularity across the world. These convenient devices listen to our every command. But when does 'listening' become 'spying'? Rob and Dan discuss smart speakers and teach you related vocabulary.

This week's question

By what percentage has the number of smart speakers used in US households increased from December 2017 to December 2018? Is it...

a) around 40%

b) around 60%

c) around 80%

Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Vocabulary

eavesdrop
secretly listen to someone's conversation

bug
small electronic device used for secretly listening to conversations

intimate
private and personal

circumvent
cleverly bypass or go around

be resigned to
accept an unpleasant situation which cannot change

trade-off
compromise

Transcript
Note: This is not a word for word transcript
Dan
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Dan.

Rob
And I'm Rob. So Dan what's... Oh, sorry. Oh, it's my wife. Err... hang on...

Dan
You didn't answer!

Dan
Oh! Of course! I totally understand. One quick question for you though... do you have a smart speaker? You know, like the Google Assistant, Amazon's Alexa or Apple's Siri.

Rob
Oh sure, yes, I've got one! It's great! I can ask it all sorts of questions, it tells me about the news and weather, it plays music when I want... it does all sorts! You just give it a voice command and it does what you want!

Dan
So it can hear you, can it?

Rob
Of course! How else can you give it a voice command?

Dan
All the time?

Rob
Well, I assume so.

Rob
Well, I... oh... I see. I hadn't thought of that.

Dan
That's our topic for this 6 Minute English. How safe is your smart speaker? However, before that, here's our quiz question. By what percentage has the number of smart speakers used in US households increased from December 2017 to December 2018? Is it...

a) around 40%
b) around 60%, or
c) around 80%?

Rob
Oh, well, I know they are very popular even in my household. So I'm going to go for c) around 80%.

Dan We'll find out if you're right later in the programme. So, smart speakers and privacy! Florian Schaub is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Information. Here he is speaking on the BBC World Service programme The Why Factor about smart speakers. What does he say people are introducing into their homes?

Florian Schaub
You're basically introducing... listening bug in your home, in your most intimate space. While the companies say they are only actively listening to what's going on in your home when they hear the keyword, the microphone is still on the whole time in order to be able to detect that keyword. We don't know to what extent companies are co-operating with the government or to what extent the government might try to circumvent company security mechanisms in order to then be able to listen to what you're doing.

Dan
So what did he say people are introducing, Rob?

Dan
Indeed! He also said that the smart speaker's microphone is on the whole time - even though the companies insist that they're only actively listening when the keyword is said.

Dan
Good question! And here's Florian Schaub again with an answer. He conducted a study on people's attitudes to privacy when it comes to smart speakers. How do people feel about having a smart speaker that could eavesdrop on them?

Florian Schaub
What we often saw is people just being resigned to 'this is the trade- off they have to make' if they want to enjoy the convenience that a smart speaker provides to them.

He said that people are resigned to the privacy trade-off. If you are resigned to something, you accept something unpleasant that can't be changed.

Rob
So people accept that a smart speaker gives them advantages, even though there could be downsides?

Dan
Yes. In the grand scheme of things, the data that these devices hear is probably not that significant considering all the data companies have about us already anyway!

Rob
So can I have the answer to the quiz then?

Dan
Of course! Earlier I asked by what percentage the number of smart speakers used in US households increased from December 2017 to December 2018? Was it...

a) around 40%
b) around 60%, or
c) around 80%?

What did you say, Rob?

Rob
I said c) around 80%.

Rob
Goodbye!

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BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / Can we trust a smart speaker?

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About ten million people in the UK now use a smart speaker, and they're gaining popularity across the world. These convenient devices listen to our every command. But when does 'listening' become 'spying'? Rob and Dan discuss smart speakers and teach you related vocabulary.