Shadowing Practice: What is AI? - Learn English Speaking with Video

What is AI?

You've probably heard a lot about artificial intelligence or AI in the last few years.

News and social media has been flooded with stories

and reports about AI and there's been a global conversation about the balance between risks and supporting innovation.

But once we sweep away some of the complicated words, cliched imagery and science fiction, what is artificial intelligence?

The term artificial intelligence can mean a lot of things and there is no single definition that is suitable for every scenario.

But one widely accepted meaning is that AI systems are machines

that perform tasks that normally require human intelligence and often learn from and use data to do those tasks.

The idea of AI has been around for a long time.

Discussions around artificial intelligence began in the 1940s and 1950s with the advent of computers

and had already entered homes by the end of the 20th century with the AI systems inside automated vacuum cleaners.

AI systems follow the rules of an algorithm or a method of data analysis called machine learning to make predictions and decisions.

These systems are often used to do tasks that are traditionally thought of as requiring humans.

So, what are the different types of artificial intelligence?

Here are a few examples.

Narrow AI is the type of AI that has been around the longest.

It is an artificial intelligence system that has been developed or trained to do one specific task.

For example, a fraud detection tool might be trained to look for patterns in a set of financial transactions

and flag the need for investigations.

General purpose AI involves using large quantities of data to train a system to perform a wide range of tasks.

These AI systems can be used to generate content, translate languages or answer queries.

They are often referred to as foundation models

because they can provide a base system upon which more specific AI applications can be built.

You may also have heard of the term Artificial General Intelligence or AGI.

This is an idea that computers will soon be able to achieve general intelligence and autonomy, but this is still, as yet, very much theoretical.

Has your council started discussions about an AI strategy?

What existing processes in your council could benefit from AI support?

What training or guidance might you and your team need to work effectively with AI?

Watch more of our AI Unpack series to explore answers to some of the most common questions about AI.

These videos explain some of the terms and concepts to help you understand how you and your organisation

might respond to the opportunities and challenges the AI brings.

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Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección

Las palabras que más se repiten: intelligence, artificial, task, term. Este vídeo tiene 31 frases y 447 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 2:48. El hablante habla a un ritmo natural de unas 160 palabras por minuto, cercano a una conversación cotidiana. Solo el 80 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés, por lo que el vocabulario es exigente. 6 de sus 31 frases son preguntas, así que sirve para practicar la entonación de las preguntas y las respuestas cortas.

Vocabulario clave de este vídeo

Las 15 palabras más avanzadas del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:

Palabra	Pronunciación	Significado
automate verbo	/ˈɔ.təˌmeɪt/	automatizar
clichéd adjetivo		trillado, tópico
query sustantivo	/ˈkwɪɹ.i/	consulta, pregunta
advent verbo	/ˈæd.vɛnt/	advenimiento
autonomy sustantivo	/ɔˈtɑ.nə.mi/	autonomía
cleaner sustantivo	/ˈkli.nɚ/	limpiador
translate verbo	/tɹænzˈleɪt/	traducir, trasladar
prediction sustantivo	/pɹɪˈdɪkʃən/	predicción
sweep verbo	/swiːp/	barrer
theoretical adjetivo	/ˌθi.əˈɹɛt.ɪ.kəl/	teórico
algorithm sustantivo	/ˈælɡəɹɪðm̩/	algoritmo
traditionally adverbio	/tɹəˈdɪʃ.ə.nə.li/	tradicionalmente
detection sustantivo	/dɪˈtɛk.ʃən/	detección
quantity sustantivo	/ˈkwɑn(t)ɪti/	cantidad, cuantía
vacuum sustantivo	/ˈvæ.kjuːm/	vacuo

Gramática en este vídeo

Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:

Estructura	En el vídeo
Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora	You've probably heard · has been flooded · has been
Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace	has been flooded · has been developed · might be trained

Pronunciación a tener en cuenta

Los sonidos de “th”: theoretical /ˌθi.əˈɹɛt.ɪ.kəl/, algorithm /ˈælɡəɹɪðm̩/
Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: prediction /pɹɪˈdɪkʃən/, traditionally /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ə.nə.li/, detection /dɪˈtɛk.ʃən/
Palabras largas — cuida el acento: autonomy /ɔˈtɑ.nə.mi/, theoretical /ˌθi.əˈɹɛt.ɪ.kəl/, traditionally /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ə.nə.li/

Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:

/v/ — no es /b/: los dientes tocan el labio inferior: advent /ˈæd.vɛnt/, vacuum /ˈvæ.kjuːm/

Cómo practicar con este vídeo

Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
Empieza a velocidad 0,75×, haz shadowing frase por frase y vuelve a la velocidad normal cuando te resulte fácil.
Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como automate, clichéd, query.

¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?

Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.

Técnica de shadowing: lee la guía completa paso a paso →

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