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 passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is the main purpose of the article?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To describe a new AI product released by two companies
   2. To explain concerns about rapid AI development and safety
   3. To compare the business strategies of two technology companies
   4. To predict when advanced AI systems will become available
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To explain concerns about rapid AI development and safety

   It explains industry leaders’ concerns about rapid AI progress and insufficient safety measures.

   The leaders of Anthropic and OpenAI are calling for a more careful approach to the development of powerful artificial intelligence.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What relationship does the article establish between technical progress and safety research?

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   1. Safety research prevents all technical progress
   2. Technical progress makes safety research unnecessary
   3. Unequal progress can create testing and control problems
   4. Safety research always develops faster than technology
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Unequal progress can create testing and control problems

   The article suggests that safety research may be falling behind technical development.

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

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does “Their warning” refer to in the second paragraph?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. A warning from outside critics about company profits
   2. A warning from Amodei and Altman about development speed
   3. A warning that AI systems have stopped improving
   4. A warning about a shortage of technology executives
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   A warning from Amodei and Altman about development speed

   The phrase refers to Amodei and Altman’s call for a slower approach.

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

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article mention that the leaders are inside the industry?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To show that they oppose every form of technological progress
   2. To suggest that their organizations have stopped developing AI
   3. To emphasize that industry insiders also recognize serious concerns
   4. To prove that outside critics have misunderstood AI technology
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To emphasize that industry insiders also recognize serious concerns

   Their positions show that concerns are shared by people directly involved in AI development.

   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.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How is the article organized overall?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It presents a warning, develops its implications, and considers its continuing importance
   2. It lists technical instructions for building and testing an AI system
   3. It describes one company’s history before reporting an unrelated event
   4. It presents opposing speeches and decides which leader is correct
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It presents a warning, develops its implications, and considers its continuing importance

   It introduces the warning, explains its risks, and discusses its wider significance.

   The warning does not end the debate over how AI development should proceed.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What can be inferred about the article’s position on AI development?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. AI development should stop permanently
   2. AI development is valuable but requires careful risk management
   3. AI development has produced no meaningful benefits
   4. AI risks are too minor to influence company decisions
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   AI development is valuable but requires careful risk management

   The article recognizes AI’s benefits while emphasizing the need for responsible preparation.

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

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the final sentence connect?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Company profits with international competition
   2. Research funding with employee training
   3. Technological ambition with concern about readiness
   4. Public opinion with the history of computing
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Technological ambition with concern about readiness

   It connects ambitious technological goals with concerns about readiness for possible consequences.

   The leaders’ comments therefore connect technological ambition with a continuing concern about preparedness.

What to review next

Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.

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

Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.

The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?

The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.

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.