Anthropic and OpenAI Leaders Urge Caution as AI Safety Concerns Grow

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

B2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the questions, then listen before opening the transcript. Notice names, numbers and any corrections the speaker makes.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Who are identified as the latest technology executives urging caution?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Two outside critics of technology companies
   2. Dario Amodei and Sam Altman
   3. Researchers from several universities
   4. Government regulators from different countries
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Dario Amodei and Sam Altman

   The narration names Dario Amodei and Sam Altman as the latest executives.

   Dario Amodei and Sam Altman are the latest technology executives to argue that the industry should slow down as it considers the risks connected to increasingly capable AI systems.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What are companies racing to create?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Less expensive computer hardware
   2. More powerful technology
   3. New international safety laws
   4. Public education programs
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   More powerful technology

   The narration says companies are racing to create more powerful technology.

   Their warning comes amid fears that companies are racing to create more powerful technology while safety measures are not advancing at the same speed.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What may happen if safety research remains behind technical development?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Companies may stop researching technology completely
   2. The industry may face difficult testing and control questions
   3. Researchers may lose interest in advanced AI systems
   4. Technical development may automatically become safer
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The industry may face difficult testing and control questions

   The industry may face difficult questions about testing and controlling systems.

   If safety research remains behind technical development, the industry may face difficult questions about how these systems should be tested and controlled.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does rapid progress create pressure to do?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Understand and manage possible risks
   2. Replace all existing safety research
   3. Prevent new capabilities from emerging
   4. Move development outside the technology industry
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Understand and manage possible risks

   Rapid progress creates pressure to understand and manage possible risks.

   AI development can bring important new capabilities, but rapid progress also creates pressure to understand and manage possible risks.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the call for caution suggest about the source of these concerns?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Only government officials are concerned
   2. Industry insiders share concerns about progress speed
   3. Outside critics have withdrawn from the debate
   4. Company leaders reject all safety measures
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Industry insiders share concerns about progress speed

   The concerns come from inside the industry as well as from outside critics.

   Their call for caution suggests that concerns about the speed of progress are being expressed by people inside the industry, not only by outside critics.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What responsibility does the recording place on companies?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Deciding which countries may use computers
   2. Building powerful systems with appropriate responsibility
   3. Ending all public discussion about artificial intelligence
   4. Funding only projects unrelated to safety
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Building powerful systems with appropriate responsibility

   Companies are presented as responsible for building increasingly powerful systems carefully.

   It also places attention on the responsibilities of companies building increasingly powerful systems.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is likely to remain part of the discussion?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Whether safeguards are keeping pace
   2. Whether companies should abandon innovation
   3. Whether leaders should leave the industry
   4. Whether AI has already reached its limits
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Whether safeguards are keeping pace

   The narration says the pace of safeguards will remain an important issue.

   As companies continue working to build powerful systems, the question of whether safeguards are keeping pace is likely to remain an important part of the discussion.

What to review next

Listen again to difficult sections, then open the transcript to check what you heard. Repeat a useful phrase aloud and try the recording once more without the text.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Listen for the final information, especially when a speaker corrects or changes an earlier statement.

Example transcript: “Let’s meet at five — actually, half past five would be better.” What is the final suggested time?

The final suggested time is 5:30. Actually signals a correction; the first time is replaced by the later suggestion.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.