AI Was Supposed to Destroy Jobs
Grammar: Discourse markers and hedging language
A Business English English lesson exploring business.
What's in this lesson
A Business English ESL lesson on business, practising discourse markers and hedging language. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary and discussion questions.
From the reading: AI Was Supposed to Destroy Jobs
In May 2025, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicted that half of all entry-level white-collar jobs would disappear within years. A month later, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman went further, forecasting the end of entire job categories. Workers organised. Students reconsidered their career paths. Companies began citing AI in their redundancy announcements. The disruption, it seemed, had finally arrived.
Vocabulary
- a rising bar
- figure out
- move the needle
- on day one
- changing
- cite
- reconsider
- remained
- show up
Discussion questions
- Has AI changed the way you do your job?
- Which jobs do you think will still exist in 20 years?
- Should companies tell employees when AI replaces their role?
AI Was Supposed to Destroy Jobs
Grammar: Discourse markers and hedging language
What's in this lesson:
Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.
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