The Return of Artificial Intelligence Reading Answers
The Return of Artificial Intelligence Reading Answers is an academic passage. IELTS Reading contains four reading passages and a total of 40 questions to be answered in 60 minutes. Each answer is worth one point and the raw score is converted to a band score on a scale of 0-9. The Return of Artificial Intelligence Reading Answers appeared in IELTS Cambridge 5 test 3. Practice from IELTS Reading Practice Papers to score well in the exam.
Check: Get 10 Free IELTS Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now
This IELTS reading passage is about the re-entry of AI public life. The reading passage on The Return of Artificial Intelligence contains 14 questions and 3 question types are listed here, these are:
- Matching the information with paragraph number
- True/false
- Choose the correct answers
The Return of Artificial Intelligence is extracted from an article named The Future of Technology. IELTS reading sample on The Return of Artificial Intelligence answers all the questions of this passage along with an explanation to each answer. So, get the best IELTS reading preparation with this sample paper.
Section 1
Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions
The Return of Artificial Intelligence Reading Answers
Read the passage on the Return of Artificial Intelligence and answer the questions:
- After years in the wilderness, the term ‘artificial intelligence’ (AI) seems poised to make a comeback. AI was big in the 1980s but vanished in the 1990s. It re-entered public consciousness with the release of Al, a movie about a robot boy. This has ignited a public debate about AI, but the term is also being used once more within the computer industry. Researchers, executives and marketing people are now using the expression without irony or inverted commas. And it is not always hype. The term is being applied, with some justification, to products that depend on technology that was originally developed by AI researchers. Admittedly, the rehabilitation of the term has a long way to go, and some firms still prefer to avoid using it. But the fact that others are starting to use it again suggests that AI has moved on from being seen as an over-ambitious and under-achieving field of research.
- The field was launched, and the term ‘artificial intelligence’ coined, at a conference in 1956 by a group of researchers that included Marvin Minsky, John McCarthy, Herbert Simon and Alan Newell, all of whom went on to become leading figures in the field. The expression provided an attractive but informative name for a research programme that encompassed such previously disparate fields as operations research, cybernetics, logic, and computer science. The goal they shared was an attempt to capture or mimic human abilities using machines. That said, different groups of researchers attacked different problems, from speech recognition to chess-playing, in different ways; AI unified the field in name only. But it was a term that captured the public imagination.
- Most researchers agree that AI peaked around 1985. A public reared on science-fiction movies and excited by the growing power of computers had high expectations. For years, AI researchers had implied that a breakthrough was just around the corner. Marvin Minsky said in 1967 that within a generation, the problem of creating artificial intelligence’ would be substantially solved. Prototypes of medical-diagnosis programs and speech recognition software appeared to be making progress. It proved to be a false dawn. Thinking computers and household robots failed to materialise, and a backlash ensued. `There was undue optimism in the early 1980s; says David Leaky, a researcher at Indiana University. ‘Then when people realised these were hard problems, there was retrenchment. By the late 1980s, the term AI was being avoided by many researchers, who opted instead to align themselves with specific sub-disciplines such as neural networks, agent technology, case-based reasoning, and so on.
- Ironically, in some ways, AI was a victim of its own success. Whenever an apparently mundane problem was solved, such as building a system that could land an aircraft unattended, the problem was deemed not to have been AI in the first plate. ‘If it works, it can’t be AI; as Dr Leaky characterises it. The effect of repeatedly moving the goal-posts in this way was that AI came to refer to ‘blue-sky’ research that was still years away from commercialisation. Researchers joked that AI stood for `almost implemented’. Meanwhile, the technologies that made it onto the market, such as speech recognition, language translation and decision-support software, were no longer regarded as AI. Yet all three once fell well within the umbrella of AI research.
- But the tide may now be turning, according to Dr Leake. HNC Software of San Diego, backed by a government agency, reckon that their new approach to artificial intelligence is the most powerful and promising approach ever discovered. HNC claim that their system, based on a cluster of 30 processors, could be used to spot camouflaged vehicles on a battlefield or extract a voice signal from a noisy background – tasks humans can do well, but computers cannot. ‘Whether or not their technology lives up to the claims made for it, the fact that HNC are emphasising the use of AI is itself an interesting development; says Dr Leaky.
- Another factor that may boost the prospects for AI in the near future is that investors are now looking for firms using clever technology, rather than just a clever business model, to differentiate themselves. In particular, the problem of information overload, exacerbated by the growth of e-mail and the explosion in the number of web pages, means there are plenty of opportunities for new technologies to help filter and categorise information – classic AI problems. That may mean that more artificial intelligence companies will start to emerge to meet this challenge.
- The 1969 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, featured an intelligent computer called HAL 9000. As well as understanding and speaking English, HAL could play chess and even learned to lipread. HAL thus encapsulated the optimism of the 1960s that intelligent computers would be widespread by 2001. But 2001 has been and gone, and there is still no sign of a HAL-like computer. Individual systems can play chess or transcribe speech, but a general theory of machine intelligence still remains elusive. It may be, however, that the comparison with HAL no longer seems quite so important, and AI can now be judged by what it can do, rather than by how well it matches up to a 30-year-old science-fiction film. ‘People are beginning to realise that there are impressive things that these systems can do; says Dr Leake hopefully.
Section 2
Solution and Explanation
Questions 1-5:
Reading Passage has seven paragraphs, A-G. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-G in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
- how Al might have a military impact
Answer: E
Explanation: Artificial intelligence can significantly improve the efficiencies of our working environments and can increase the work people can do. At the point when AI takes over redundant or risky errands, it opens up the human labor force to accomplish work they are better prepared for—assignments that include innovativeness and compassion among others. Therefore the military impacts of AI are quite clear from this information and so Paragraph E happens to be a clear match for this information.
Supporting sentence: HNC claim that their system, based on a cluster of 30 processors, could be used to spot camouflaged vehicles on a battlefield or extract a voice signal from a noisy background – tasks humans can do well, but computers cannot.
Keyword: vehicles on a battlefield, cluster of 30 processors
Location in the passage: Paragraph E
Read More IELTS Reading Samples
- the fact that AI brings together a range of separate research areas
Answer: B
Explanation: The expression provided an attractive but informative name for a research program that encompassed such previously disparate fields as operations research, cybernetics, logic, and computer science. It indicates that AI was collective research of the previous matters. Also, it is mentioned in the second paragraph of the passage that the goal of this new and collective research is to jot down all the previous findings together.
Supporting sentence: The expression provided an attractive but informative name for a research programme that encompassed such previously disparate fields as operations research, cybernetics, logic, and computer science. The goal they shared was an attempt to capture or mimic human abilities using machines.
Keyword: encompassed, cybernetics, logic, and computer science
Location in the passage: Paragraph B
- the reason why AI has become a common topic of conversation again
Answer: A
Explanation: AI was big in the 1980s but vanished in the 1990s. It re-entered public consciousness with the release of Al, a movie about a robot boy. The first paragraph is all about the re-entry of AI into our lives. The phrase “poised to make a comeback” is a clear indication that AI became a common matter of discussion again and this was the second innings of AI.
Supporting sentence: It re-entered public consciousness with the release of Al, a movie about a robot boy. This has ignited a public debate about AI, but the term is also being used once more within the computer industry.
Keyword: re-entered public consciousness, public debate, AI
Location in the passage: Paragraph A
- how AI could help deal with difficulties related to the amount of information available electronically
Answer: F
Explanation: In particular, the problem of information overload, exacerbated by the growth of e-mail and the explosion in the number of web pages, means there are plenty of opportunities for new technologies to help filter and categorize information – classic AI problems. The information available electronically indicates the information available over the internet - the webpages. So, it justly matches the paragraph content of F, therefore it is the correct answer.
Supporting sentence: In particular, the problem of information overload, exacerbated by the growth of e-mail and the explosion in the number of web pages, means there are plenty of opportunities for new technologies to help filter and categorise information – classic AI problems.
Keyword: e-mail and the explosion in the number of web pages
Location in the passage: Paragraph F
- where the expression AI was first used
Answer: B
Explanation: The field was launched, and the term ‘artificial intelligence’ coined, at a conference in 1956. This is about the first launch of AI in public - paragraph B deals with the first use of AI. 3 researchers namely, Marvin Minsky, John McCarthy, Herbert Simon, and Alan Newell were associated with the first launch of AI at that time. The term artificial intelligence was used for the very first time by these researchers.
Supporting sentence: The field was launched, and the term ‘artificial intelligence’ coined, at a conference in 1956 by a group of researchers that included Marvin Minsky, John McCarthy, Herbert Simon and Alan Newell, all of whom went on to become leading figures in the field.
Keyword: ‘artificial intelligence’ coined, at a conference in 1956
Location in the passage: Paragraph B
Questions 6-11:
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 6-11 on your answer sheet, write
- TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
- FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
- NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this
- The researchers who launched the field of AI had worked together on other projects in the past.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
- In 1985, AI was at its lowest point.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Paragraph C states that AI was at its peak around 1985. The researchers affirmed with this and ordinary people too had a growing interest on it. Along with that, the science-fiction movies had very high expectations and the viewers were excited by the growing power of computers at that time.
Supporting sentence: Most researchers agree that AI peaked around 1985.
Keyword: peaked around 1985
Location in the passage: Paragraph C
- Research into agent technology was more costly than research into neural networks.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
- Applications of AI have already had a degree of success.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Indeed AI technology attended a huge success and AI falled victim of its success. The reason behind this was AI apparently used to solved mundane problems. For example, building a system that could land an aircraft unattended and so on. For complex problems, AI was the first solution. It undoubtedly mentions the success of AI technology.
Supporting sentence: Ironically, in some ways, AI was a victim of its own success.
Keyword: AI in the first plate
Location in the passage: Paragraph D
- The problems waiting to be solved by AI have not changed since 1967.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: This information does not match with the passage contents because when AI was launch, people were really dependent on AI. As the days passed, this dependency seemed to be reduced. So, yes, there was a change in the popularity of AI. Not just popularity or dependency, AI was not even considered as a topic for research by the late 1980. So, neither the people waited for AI to solve their problems, nor the researchers considered AI for their papers.
Supporting sentence: By the late 1980s, the term AI was being avoided by many researchers, who opted instead to align themselves with specific sub-disciplines such as neural networks, agent technology, case-based reasoning, and so on.
Keyword: avoided by many researchers, neural networks, agent technology, case-based reasoning, and so on
Location in the passage: Paragraph C
- The film 2001: A Space Odyssey, reflected contemporary ideas about the potential of AI computers.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: 2001: A Space Odyssey documented how far AI technologies can lead and the potentials of AI. The movies always have a major share when it comes to inform something to someone or inspire someone. 2001: A Space Odyssey did its part really well. The doubts regarding AI were cleared through this movie and people find AI a trustworthy inclusion in their daily lives.
Supporting sentence: The 1969 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, featured an intelligent computer called HAL 9000.
Keyword: intelligent computer called HAL 9000
Location in the passage: Paragraph G
Questions 12-14
Choose the correct letter A. B, C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 12-14 on your answer sheet.
- According to researchers, in the late 1980s there was a feeling that
- a general theory of AI would never be developed.
- original expectations of Al may not have been justified.
- a wide range of applications was close to fruition.
- more powerful computers were the key to further progress.
Answer: B
Explanation: According to researchers, in the late 1980s there was a feeling that original expectations of Al may not have been justified. This is because, at that time, the researchers used to avoid the topic of AI. instead of AI, they used to pick other subjects for their research papers. This was really not expected as AI happened to be at the peak a few years back.
Supporting sentence: By the late 1980s, the term AI was being avoided by many researchers, who opted instead to align themselves with specific sub-disciplines such as neural networks, agent technology, case-based reasoning, and so on.
Keyword: AI was being avoided by many researchers
Location in the passage: Paragraph C
- In Dr Leake’s opinion, the reputation of AI suffered as a result of
- changing perceptions.
- premature implementation.
- poorly planned projects.
- commercial pressures.
Answer: A
Explanation: In Dr Leake’s opinion, the reputation of AI suffered as a result of changing perceptions. Dr. Leaky was a researcher of Indian University and the reputation of AI decreased slowly at that time. The reason of this decay in popularity of AI was not expected and the researchers in their own ways started to find the cause of decay. Dr. Deaky found the people’s changing views were responsible for this downfall.
Supporting sentence: There was undue optimism in the early 1980s; says David Leaky, a researcher at Indiana University. ‘Then when people realised these were hard problems, there was retrenchment.
Keyword: people realised these were hard problems, there was retrenchment
Location in the passage: Paragraph C
- The prospects for AI may benefit from
- existing Al applications.
- new business models.
- orders from internet-only companies.
- new investment priorities.
Answer: D
Explanation: The prospects for AI may benefit from new investment priorities. In paragraph F, there is a clear reference to this. It is mentioned that people need to invest in AI, so that AI technology can have proper development to solve the more complex problems. At present, the investors are willing to invest in AI and that is the reason behind its prosperity.
Supporting sentence: Another factor that may boost the prospects for AI in the near future is that investors are now looking for firms using clever technology, rather than just a clever business model, to differentiate themselves
Keyword: investors are now looking for firms using clever technology
Location in the passage: Paragraph F
Comments