Listen Up: AI-powered pets ease loneliness for China’s one-child generation
Practise your English with our short listening exercises: play the audio, answer the questions, and check the answers at the bottom of the page.
AI-powered smart pets help combat social isolation in China, offering emotional support and companionship to users of all ages. Photo: AFPQuestions
1. Who was Zhang talking to at the shopping mall at the beginning of the podcast?
A. a classmate
B. a family member
C. a stranger
D. a pet robot
2. How does BooBoo help Zhang?
A. by providing companionship
B. by completing her homework
C. by giving her work advice
D. by giving her medical advice
3. According to Zhang, what do she and people her age have trouble with?
A. balancing work and personal life
B. trusting AI robots
C. face-to-face interactions
D. maintaining romantic relationships
4. What real-life animal does BooBoo look like?
A. hamster
B. guinea pig
C. capybara
D. gerbil
5. How much does one BooBoo cost?
A. less than HK$500
B. exactly HK$1,000
C. about HK$1,500
D. more than HK$5,000
6. According to the podcast, what will happen to “social robots” like BooBoo in the future?
A. They will be less expensive.
B. They will become more popular.
C. They will become more advanced.
D. They will be specially created for young children.
7. Why does Guo Zichen think a smart pet dog could be helpful?
A. It can help him play with his child when he is busy.
B. It can help his child learn a new language.
C. It can help his child make friends.
D. It can help his child be more tech savvy.
8. If someone is “sceptical” about something, they are …
A. furious.
B. excited.
C. sure.
D. doubtful.
9. What is Guo’s concern about a smart pet dog?
A. It might be too expensive.
B. It might attack his child.
C. It might take his child’s attention away from their schoolwork.
D. none of the above
10. What is an example of an AI product that is designed to cater to people’s emotional needs, as mentioned in the podcast?
A. a conversational chatbot
B. a self-driving car
C. an online medical diagnosis tool
D. a robot that can do household chores
11. Using information from the podcast, complete the following description of these names. (3 marks)
(i) BooBoo: _____________ smart pet
(ii) Aluo: _____________ smart pet
(iii) Hangzhou Genmoor Technology: _____________ smart pet
Answers
1. D
2. A
3. C
4. B
5. C
6. B
7. A
8. D
9. D
10. A
11. (i) a type of; (ii) the name an owner gave their; (iii) the company that produces a particular (accept all similar answers)
Script
Adapted from Agence France-Presse
Voice 1: At a shopping mall in Beijing, Zhang Yachun murmurs to her closest confidant, a fluffy AI-powered robot whose soothing chirps remind her that she is not alone. Zhang, who is 19, has long battled anxiety over school and work and has struggled to form deep friendships with other people. But since buying a BooBoo, which is a “smart pet” that uses artificial intelligence to interact with humans, she says life has become easier, and she feels like she has someone to share the happy times with. She added that the robot plays the same role as human friends, and it makes her feel needed.
Voice 2: Zhang, who is an only child, said she has become more willing to share her worries with her parents since she bought her companion, which she named Aluo. She added that people of her generation often struggle to communicate face to face, and they might be afraid to express who they are. Across China, a growing number of people are turning to AI to combat social isolation as the technology becomes more mature and widely accepted.
Voice 1: Wriggly, furry and resembling a guinea pig, BooBoo is produced by Hangzhou Genmoor Technology and retails for up to about HK$1,500. Developed with children’s social needs in mind, it has sold about 1,000 units since May, according to the company’s product manager Adam Duan. By 2033, the global market for “social robots” like BooBoo is expected to reach US$42.5 billion, which is about HK$331 billion.
Voice 2: For Guo Zichen, who is 33, a smart pet dog could help when he is unable to play with his child. Guo said that family members were now spending less time with children. But he also admitted that he was sceptical that an electronic pup could bring as much joy as an actual canine.
Voice 1: A growing number of AI products in China cater to people’s emotional needs, from conversational chatbots to lifelike avatars of the deceased. According to experts, social shifts, such as the impact of the government’s decades-long one-child policy, are helping drive the growth of this market. People born in the policy’s early years are now in their 40s and facing an economy burdened with soaring home prices, higher living costs and increased work stress, stretching their ability to focus on their children.
Voice 2: According to Wu Haiyan, a professor specialising in AI and psychology at the University of Macau, this leaves little room for personal interactions, prompting people to seek alternative ways to meet their emotional needs. In some cases, she added, people showed more trust in AI than in humans.