Imagine a world where artificial intelligence can design new forms of life from scratch. Now imagine that this is not science fiction – it has already happened. In a landmark study, US researchers used AI to design entirely new viruses that do not exist in nature, and then successfully brought them to life in a laboratory. Some scientists are calling it a turning point in medicine that could help solve the crisis of antibiotic resistance. Others are warning that the same technology could be used to create bioweapons. The video at the heart of this lesson, the BBC News report “AI just created a brand new virus. Should we be scared?,” asks the question on everyone’s mind: Should we be scared?
This lesson plan takes this real BBC News story and turns it into a rich, discussion-driven class for upper-intermediate students. The video raises big questions about the limits of science, the role of AI in our lives, and whether we are ready for the consequences of playing with the code of life.
Skills students will develop:
- Listening Comprehension: Understanding complex scientific content from an authentic news report
- Speaking and Discussion: Expressing opinions on ethical and technological issues, participating in group debates
- Vocabulary Acquisition: Learning and using topic-specific vocabulary in context, including words such as genome, phage, refine, resistant, tailor, maliciously, and mundane
- Phrasal Verbs and Prepositions: Practising essential verb phrases used in scientific and news contexts, including come up with, wipe out, resistant to, open up, train on, start with, deal with, roll out, and pick up
- Critical Thinking: Evaluating the benefits and risks of emerging technologies
- Research and Presentation Skills: Investigating a real-world example of AI in healthcare, such as AI detecting cancer in scans, AI-assisted drug discovery, robotic surgery, or AI monitoring patient health, and delivering a structured presentation to the class
By the end of this lesson, students will not only have developed their language skills but also engaged deeply with one of the most pressing ethical questions of our time. Your students will leave the classroom with plenty to think about – and plenty to talk about.
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Teach English through AI-generated viruses, medical breakthroughs, and the ethics of creating life.
