When the Algorithm Says No
Grammar: Discourse markers and contrast language
A Level 6 English lesson exploring business.
What's in this lesson
A Level 6 (proficiency) ESL lesson on business, practising discourse markers and contrast language. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary and discussion questions.
From the reading: When the Algorithm Says No
In 2022, a British man named Martin Lewis — the country's most prominent consumer finance journalist — described trying to cancel a direct debit with a major bank. The phone tree looped. The chatbot apologised. The human agent, when he finally reached one, explained that the system would not permit the change that day. Not could not. Would not. The distinction, Lewis observed, was everything: somewhere between the server farm and the customer, a decision had been made — not by a person, but by a rule set nobody in the building seemed able to override.
Vocabulary
- best placed to
- by turns
- in the building
- push through to
- a grey area
- by the book
- pass the buck
- red tape
- rule set
Discussion questions
- Have you ever been refused by a system with no human explanation?
- Should companies be legally required to offer a human alternative to automated decisions?
- What makes good customer service genuinely memorable?
When the Algorithm Says No
Grammar: Discourse markers and contrast language
What's in this lesson:
Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.
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