6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.com

Hello this is 6 minute English from BBC learning English. I'm Neil and I'm Beth. Smellavision, a television which allows

you to smell things as well as see them and a miracle pill which cures all diseases.

These predictions for the future were made in the 1930s, but so

far they haven't come true.

Making predictions for the future isn't easy. Just ask

Tech billionaire Elon Musk who recently predicted that

artificial intelligence will eventually mean that no one will have to work.

In fact, there have been many predictions about the future of work.

For example, that robots will take over most jobs and that everyone will work from home.

During COVID, one of these predictions came true. Millions were forced to work from home.

So what will work be like in the future? That's what we'll be discussing in this program and as usual we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary too.

But first I have a question for you Beth. Another idea for the future is the four dayday working week where employees work four days for the same

money as five. After COVID many British companies gave the idea a go but out of the 60 companies taking parts in a four-day working week

trial in 2023, how many said they planned to continue with a

52 percent

B 72 percent or C 92 percent

M. I guess 52 percent of the company's plan to continue with a four-day week.

Okay, Beth, I'll reveal the answer later in the program.

Now, whatever Elon Musk thinks, as we've seen it difficult to make your predictions accurate.

Here's Sean Lay, presenter of BBC World Service Program, the real story, asking University

of Cambridge Professor Brendan Birchirchell what he thinks about predictions for the future of work.

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