3.1: Artificial Intelligence and Jobs

ESL 111B / 242C: Academic Listening and Speaking · LibreTexts

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    Artificial Intelligence

    Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the workplace, changing how companies operate and what skills employers value most. While AI tools can automate repetitive tasks and analyze huge amounts of data in seconds, they cannot replace uniquely human qualities like critical thinking, creative problem-solving, empathy, and clear cross-cultural communication. For college students entering this evolving job market, the key to career success is not competing with technology, but learning how to use AI responsibly as a collaborative tool while continuing to build strong interpersonal and decision-making skills that machines cannot match.

    Warmup Questions

    1. Have you ever used AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini? How do you use AI?

    2. What kinds of jobs do you think AI can do? What kinds of jobs does AI not do well?

    3. Are you worried about AI taking jobs? Why or why not?

    4. What makes humans better than AI at certain tasks?

    Vocabulary

    Directions: Use an English to English dictionary to look up any new words or words you're not sure about. Look up the words in your assigned column (Student A or Student B). Your partner will tell you the definition of any words in the column you were not assigned. For example, if you are "Student A", you will look up the definitions in Column labeled "Student A". You will ask your partner for any unfamiliar words in column labeled "Student B". Your partner will paraphrase the definition.

    Student Vocab list

    Student A

    Student B

    artificial intelligence (AI)

    entry-level positions

    job postings

    decline

    correlation

    cause and effect

    hiring boom

    expertise

    transcribe/transcribing

    imminent

    novice

    insurmountable

    displaced

    parallegal

    empathy

    physicality

    Main Idea

    Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

    Question: What is the main message of this video?

    1. AI has already taken most jobs and unemployment is very high
    2. AI is affecting some jobs, but the situation is more complex than headlines suggest
    3. AI will never affect any jobs because humans are always better
    4. Young people should give up looking for jobs because of AI
    Answer

    B) AI is affecting some jobs, but the situation is more complex than headlines suggest

    Paraphrasing

    Paraphrasing is just as essential for speaking in college as it is for writing essays. When you speak in seminars, group discussions, and presentations, you frequently need to explain complex readings, respond to classmates' opinions, and present research clearly:

    • Checking Understanding in Class Discussions: Repeating a classmate’s or professor’s point in your own words (e.g., "If I understand correctly, you are saying that...") confirms you understood their message before you reply.
    • Presenting Research Naturally: Reading long quotes from slides makes presentations robotic and hard to follow. Paraphrasing research into clear, conversational language keeps your audience engaged and shows real mastery of the topic.
    • Synthesizing Group Ideas: In team projects, summarizing multiple opinions into one clear statement helps your group reach decisions and organize tasks efficiently.
    • Managing Q&A Sessions: When an audience member asks a complicated or rambling question, paraphrasing it back to them (e.g., "So, your main question is about...") gives you time to think and ensures you answer accurately.
    Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)
    Directions: Read these sentences from the video. Paraphrase them in your own words.

    Example 1:

    Original: "I've applied to probably over a hundred jobs in the past, I don't know, six months. And yeah, none of them are landing."

    Your paraphrase: _________________________________

    Answer
    • "She has sent applications to more than 100 jobs in the last six months, but she hasn't gotten any of them."
    • "In half a year, she applied to about 100 positions, but she didn't receive any job offers."
    • "She submitted over 100 job applications in six months without success."
    • "After applying to approximately 100 jobs over six months, she still hasn't found work."

    This page titled 3.1: Artificial Intelligence and Jobs was last modified on Sat, 26 Sep 2026 19:01:29 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Ricky Tjandra.