Module 3 Resources

🤖 Technologies, AI, & Gadgets Vocabulary

🟢 Level C1: Advanced

Focus: General technology use, common digital concepts, and development trends.

1. Phrasal Verbs (C1)

• Roll out

  • Meaning: To officially introduce a new product, system, or service.

  • Example: The tech giant plans to roll out its new operating system globally next quarter.

• Boot up

  • Meaning: (Of a computer or device) to start running.

  • Example: It takes my old laptop five minutes just to boot up properly.

• Back up

  • Meaning: To make a copy of (data) as a safeguard.

  • Example: I always back up my files to an external drive every week to prevent data loss.

• Hook up

  • Meaning: To connect a piece of equipment to another piece of equipment or to a power supply.

  • Example: We need to hook up the new smart speaker to the home Wi-Fi network.

• Catch on

  • Meaning: To become popular or fashionable.

  • Example: Virtual reality gaming is finally starting to catch on with the mass market.

2. Idioms (C1)

• Cutting edge

  • Meaning: The very latest stage of development; extremely modern and advanced.

  • Example: The university's new lab is working on cutting-edge research for quantum computing.

• The nuts and bolts

  • Meaning: The basic practical details of a subject or activity.

  • Example: Before we discuss deployment, let’s go over the nuts and bolts of the software architecture.

• Run out of steam

  • Meaning: To suddenly lose energy or enthusiasm.

  • Example: The startup’s initial enthusiasm for the project began to run out of steam when funding dried up.

• On the same wavelength

  • Meaning: Thinking in the same way; having the same opinion or set of ideas.

  • Example: It’s crucial for developers and designers to be on the same wavelength during the prototyping phase.

• Reinvent the wheel

  • Meaning: To waste time and effort creating something that already exists or has been created by others.

  • Example: There is no need to reinvent the wheel; let’s just use the existing open-source library.

3. Nouns (C1)

• Algorithm

  • Meaning: A process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer.

  • Example: The platform’s search algorithm determines the order of the results you see.

• Bandwidth

  • Meaning: The maximum amount of data transmitted over an internet connection in a given amount of time.

  • Example: Streaming 4K video requires significant bandwidth, which can slow down other devices.

• Interface

  • Meaning: A point where two systems, subjects, organizations, etc., meet and interact. (Often used as User Interface: UI).

  • Example: We need to simplify the user interface to make the app more intuitive.

• Disruption

  • Meaning: Disturbance or problems that interrupt an event, activity, or process (often used positively for technological innovation).

  • Example: AI-driven services are causing massive disruption across the financial sector.

• Metrics

  • Meaning: Standards of measurement.

  • Example: The marketing team tracks several key metrics, such as click-through rate and conversion.

4. Adjectives (C1)

• Intuitive

  • Meaning: Easy to use and understand without explicit instruction.

  • Example: Apple products are generally praised for their intuitive design.

• Proprietary

  • Meaning: Relating to an owner or ownership; (of a product) marketed under a registered trade name as the sole maker.

  • Example: The software relies on a proprietary code that cannot be viewed or modified by third parties.

• Scalable

  • Meaning: (Of a system or function) able to be enlarged or extended to accommodate increased capacity.

  • Example: We need a cloud solution that is easily scalable to handle seasonal traffic spikes.

• Ubiquitous

  • Meaning: Present, appearing, or found everywhere.

  • Example: Smartphones have become an ubiquitous part of modern life in developed nations.

• Obsolete

  • Meaning: No longer produced or used; out of date.

  • Example: Many legacy systems are quickly becoming obsolete as technology advances.

5. Verbs (C1)

• Integrate

  • Meaning: To combine (one thing) with another so that they become a whole.

  • Example: The goal is to integrate the new sensor technology seamlessly into existing vehicles.

• Debug

  • Meaning: To identify and remove errors from computer hardware or software.

  • Example: The programming team spent the entire weekend trying to debug the critical flaw.

• Simulate

  • Meaning: To imitate the behavior of (a situation or process) by means of a model or computer program.

  • Example: Engineers used the software to simulate the aerodynamic performance of the new aircraft wing.

• Encrypt

  • Meaning: To convert (information or data) into a cipher or code, especially to prevent unauthorized access.

  • Example: All sensitive personal data must be strongly encrypted before transmission.

• Render

  • Meaning: To process an outline and fill it with color and shading to make it appear three-dimensional.

  • Example: The graphics card is powerful enough to render complex scenes in real-time.

🟣 Level C2: Proficiency

Focus: Scientific specificity, technical complexity, ethical implications, and advanced computing.

1. Phrasal Verbs (C2)

• Tap into

  • Meaning: To gain access to or make use of (a resource or market).

  • Example: The new AI models can tap into vast amounts of unstructured data to find patterns.

• Fend off

  • Meaning: To defend oneself from (a blow, attack, or attacker).

  • Example: The security team worked all night to fend off the sophisticated denial-of-service attack.

• Phase out

  • Meaning: To gradually stop using or providing something.

  • Example: The company has decided to phase out its reliance on fossil fuel infrastructure over the next decade.

• Hone in on

  • Meaning: To move or focus attention closer on (a specific target).

  • Example: The deep learning network can hone in on subtle irregularities in medical images.

• Fall short

  • Meaning: To fail to meet an expectation or goal.

  • Example: Current battery technology continues to fall short of the necessary power density for long-haul electric flight.

2. Idioms & Collocations (C2)

• Technological singularity

  • Meaning: A hypothetical future point in time when technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unfathomable changes to human civilization.

  • Example: Some futurists believe the development of AGI will trigger a technological singularity before the end of the century.

• Digital divide

  • Meaning: The gulf between those who have ready access to computers and the Internet, and those who do not.

  • Example: Governments are trying to bridge the digital divide by subsidizing broadband access in rural areas.

• A quantum leap

  • Meaning: A sudden, great, and important change or advance.

  • Example: The invention of the transistor was a quantum leap forward in electronics.

• GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out)

  • Meaning: A principle that faulty or corrupted input data will result in faulty or corrupted output.

  • Example: The data scientists reminded the team that with large language models, it's always GIGO.

• Black box problem

  • Meaning: The issue of not being able to understand how an AI reached its decision.

  • Example: Understanding why the autonomous vehicle chose to swerve is part of the black box problem in AI ethics.

3. Nouns (C2)

• Redundancy

  • Meaning: The inclusion of extra components which are not strictly necessary to functioning, in case of failure.

  • Example: The server cluster employs a high degree of redundancy to ensure zero downtime.

• Latency

  • Meaning: The delay before a transfer of data begins following an instruction for its transfer.

  • Example: Low latency is critical for real-time applications like online competitive gaming and remote surgery.

• Heuristic

  • Meaning: Enabling a person to discover or learn something for themselves; a practical method, not guaranteed to be optimal or perfect, used for making decisions.

  • Example: The pathfinding program uses a simple heuristic to estimate the distance to the goal.

• Augmentation

  • Meaning: The action or process of making or becoming greater in size or amount; often refers to human-computer interaction (e.g., Augmented Reality).

  • Example: Future devices will focus on augmentation rather than distraction.

• Cybernetics

  • Meaning: The scientific study of communication and control in the animal and the machine.

  • Example: The research in cybernetics is leading to incredible advances in prosthetic limbs.

4. Adjectives (C2)

• Volatile

  • Meaning: (Of memory) liable to change rapidly and unpredictably, especially for the worse; data is lost when power is removed.

  • Example: RAM is a type of volatile memory, unlike hard drives.

• Explanatory

  • Meaning: Serving to explain something. (Often used as Explainable AI or XAI).

  • Example: The goal of XAI is to make AI decisions more transparent and explanatory.

• Pervasive

  • Meaning: Spreading widely throughout an area or a group of people.

  • Example: The use of biometrics for security is becoming increasingly pervasive in major cities.

• Intrusive

  • Meaning: Causing disruption or annoyance through being unwelcome or uninvited.

  • Example: Users complained that the targeted advertising was overly intrusive.

• Autonomous

  • Meaning: Having the freedom to govern itself or control its own affairs; acting independently.

  • Example: The project is developing a fleet of entirely autonomous delivery drones.

5. Verbs (C2)

• Decommission

  • Meaning: To take (a piece of equipment or machinery) out of service.

  • Example: The data center decided to decommission all of its old, inefficient servers.

• Instantiate

  • Meaning: To represent as or by an instance; to create an actual object from a class (in programming).

  • Example: Before using the object, the program must instantiate the class with the required parameters.

• Curate

  • Meaning: To select, organize, and look after (the items in a collection or exhibition); to select and present content.

  • Example: Social media feeds use complex systems to curate personalized content for each user.

• Demystify

  • Meaning: To make (a difficult or complicated subject) clearer and easier to understand.

  • Example: Tech journalists play a key role in helping to demystify complex AI concepts for the public.

• Exploit

  • Meaning: To use (a resource) in a way that is unfair or selfish; to make full use of and benefit from (a resource). (Often used negatively for security vulnerabilities).

  • Example: A hacker was able to exploit a known vulnerability in the outdated software to gain unauthorized access.