Hello Dan. What's on the agenda today?

Well, I'll give you a clue. It's something that  makes the world go round, but it doesn't really  

exist. In fact, if we all stopped believing in  it, it would have no use at all! What is it?

I haven't got a clue!

Ok...how about this?

Money!

Yep! And not just any money, we're  talking about crypto-currency.

Currency is the money that's being used  in a given country at a certain time.  

But what about the cryptopart?

Well, crypto is a prefix meaning hidden  or secret – it comes from the word cryptic  

which means mysterious or difficult to understand.  

You may have heard about the most popular  crypto-currency at the moment, the Bitcoin.

Well, I've certainly heard the name,  but I can't say I know what it is.

First our quiz question. When was the  Bitcoin crypto-currency first created?

a) 2004

b) 2009

c) 2013

Well, I think 2004 may have been  a little early, and I think 2013  

could be a little late, so  the smart money's on 2009.

We'll see if you're right later on in the  show. So…Bitcoin, what do you know about it?

Well, I know it's a digital currency…so  presumably, you can use it online to buy things?

You are right on the money,  which means correct, both times.  

Bitcoin is just like any other  currency except for two things.  

First, it's not printed by governments or  banks, which means that it's not legal tender.

Legal tender means the official money  that can be used within a country.  

So that means we can't use it to  pay taxes or settle debts, right?

Exactly. Governments won't recognise it as an  official currency, although it acts just like  

one. You can use it to buy items from anyone  who will accept it, and its value fluctuates.

Fluctuates means changes in level or  amount. And what's the second thing?

Ah, the second thing is that bitcoin is a digital  currency, meaning that with the exception of a few  

tokens, it largely exists online only. You can't  carry a load of bitcoins around in your pocket!

Well, that makes a nice… change!

Oh dear, Neil. Was that a money pun? Terrible!

So if it's a digital only currency,  where do new ones come from?  

Can't I just say that I've got a  million of them and make myself rich!?

Well, no. You see, even though Bitcoin  is not regulated by a bank or government,  

it still has a process that stops people from  cheating. There are only two ways to get bitcoins.  

You either trade them from  someone, or you go mining.

Oh wait, I've heard about this. This is when  you use your computer to run calculations which  

verify other Bitcoin transactions. You get  rewarded for this 'work' by earning bitcoins.

Yep! It's money for old rope, which  means it's an easy way to earn money.

Wow! I'm going to start mining immediately!

Well, you wouldn't be the only one!  

Bitcoin's value has recently gone up quite a lot  and this has caused a lot of interest. In fact,  

one stock exchange in Chicago has begun  trading in Bitcoin futures contracts.

A futures contract? What's that?

I'll let BBC correspondent  Rory Cellan-Jones explain that.

A futures contract, a bet on where  the currency will be a month from now,  

soared above 18,000 dollars. That means that  investors believe Bitcoin, which started the  

year worth under 1000 dollars will continue  to rise in value, albeit at a slower rate.  

But at the big banks there's still  plenty of scepticism about the currency.

Soared in this context means  increased very quickly. So,  

now big investors are betting on  the value of Bitcoin in the future.

Yes. But he also mentioned that the banks  have a lot of scepticism. That's a doubt  

that something is real or true. In this  case, whether Bitcoin is reliable or not.

Maybe it's best I don't get involved then.  After all, a fool and his money are soon parted.

Well, you don't have to be sceptical  about the answer to our quiz.  

We know that for a fact. I asked you when the  Bitcoin crypto-currency was first created.

a) 2004

b) 2009

c) 2013

And I said 2009.

And you were right! Well done. Shall  we go over the vocabulary again?

First, we had currency. That's the money being  used in a given country at a certain time.  

Name three currencies and their countries, Dan.

Ok. Baht for Thailand. Rupee for India and  my favourite, Metical for Mozambique. Next  

we had cryptic. Something which is cryptic  is mysterious or difficult to understand.  

For example, what do rich people need, poor  people have and if you eat it, you die?

A cryptic riddle indeed! I'll  have to think about that.  

Then we had legal tender, that's the official  money that can be used within a country.  

The Euro is legal tender within Spain,  but what was the legal tender before that?

Wasn't it the Peseta? Then we had  fluctuates. If something fluctuates,  

it changes in amount or level.  The stock market fluctuates.

But my love for my family never does. Then we  had soared, which means increased very quickly.  

It's used with this meaning in the  context of money, prices and statistics.

Finally, we had scepticism. Scepticism is doubt  

that something is real or true. What sort  of things are people sceptical about, Neil?

Some people think that human activity hasn't  caused climate change. They are sceptical.

And that brings us to the end of today's 6 Minute  English. Don't forget to check out our Youtube,  

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages,  and we'll see you next time. Goodbye.

Goodbye

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Rob.

And I'm Dan.

Hey Dan. What's the time?

Time you got a new watch?

Now I didn't ask you that just for a  joke or a sarcastic comment now did I?

Well no, but look there's a clock  over there, you are wearing a watch,  

you have a smartphone and a computer, all of  which show the time. So why are you asking me?

Dan! I was trying to introduce today's topic  which is all about virtual assistants or bots.  

You seemed to have forgotten the script.

Oh yes, sorry. We're talking  about software that you talk to  

and that can talk back to you. Like Apple's  Siri, Google's Assistant, Amazon's Alexa  

and Microsoft's Cortana. It might be on your  phone or computer or even a speaker in your house.

Now before we hear more about this  topic, here is today's quiz question:  

Do you know when was the first computer which  could recognise speech, launched? Was it in

a) 1951

b) 1961

c) 1971

I have found my script, so I've seen the  answer but I have to say I was surprised.

Don't tell anybody, Dan, OK. We'll give the answer  for the listeners at the end of the programme.  

We're going to hear now from Tom Hewitson, who  is a conversation designer, working in the field  

of virtual assistants, talking on BBC Radio  4's Word of Mouth programme. He talks about  

the whole idea of virtual assistants and how they  are changing the way we interact with technology.  

How does he describe our existing  relationship with computers?

It changes the way that we think about computers.  To date we've thought of them largely as  

tools. They're just an advanced version of a  calculator. They're something you kind of use  

to get a specific thing done, whereas this is  kind of changing them more into like an agent.  

They're an active participant in the interaction  and in guiding you to make the right decision.

How did he describe our existing  relationship with computers then?

He said that to date, which is an expression  which means 'up until this point in time',  

we have thought of them as advanced calculators.

Yes, that's right, we use them  as a tool to get things done.  

But he says that modern technology is turning them  into an agent. This doesn't mean a secret agent,  

like James Bond! In this sense an  agent is something that has agency  

and that means it has the ability to act  individually and make its own decisions.

I'm not sure I'd like my phone to have agency. It  probably wouldn't like being in my pocket all day.

Who would Dan? But I'm not sure Hewitson  is suggesting our devices would become  

that clever but he did say they could  become more active in our lives.

Maybe. I imagine, for example,  

telling us if we are spending too  much time in fast food restaurants?

Maybe in your case Dan. Mine would be  telling me I spend too much time in the gym!  

Hewitson goes on to explain how the way we will  talk to our virtual assistants will develop.  

What does he say we don't need to do?

We will develop our own kind of vernacular  for speaking with machines that will be  

subtly different from how we  speak to other people because  

as you rightly point out you don't need to make  the machine like you don't need to kind of make  

random chit-chat that's just filling the time.  It can be much more brusque and to the point.

A lot of what we say in human communication  

is to do with our relationship  with the person we're talking to.

We say things and talk about things that are maybe  not directly relevant to our point. With a digital  

virtual assistant, we don't need to do that,  so we don't need to make the machine like us.

Hewitson said that we will develop our own  vernacular, this is a general word for a native  

language. This vernacular will be a little bit  different from our everyday vernacular because,  

as we said, we don't need to maintain a social  relationship with the artificial assistant.

This means that we won't need chit-chat.  Chit-chat is another expression for small talk:  

conversation topics which aren't important  but are part of everyday social communication,  

like talking about the weather.

And because we don't need to be  friends with our virtual assistants,  

we can be brusque and to the point. Both of  these mean being very direct and not very polite.

Well, Dan, I don't mean to be brusque but it is  time for the answer to this week's quiz question.  

Earlier I asked when was the first  computer which could recognise speech,  

launched. The options were:

a) 1951

b) 1961

c) 1971

Well actually the first computer which  could recognise speech was launched in 1961.

It was called the IBM Shoebox and could  recognise 16 words and the numbers zero  

to nine. That's nearly as many as you!

Cheeky! Right enough of this chit-chat.  Let's recap today's vocabulary.

Well, chit-chat was one of today's  expressions. Meaning 'small talk',  

but we also had the expression to date.  That means 'up until this moment in time'.

Then we had the noun agent. This  refers to something that has agency.  

And that is the ability to think,  make decisions and act independently.

The next word is vernacular,  another word for language,  

particularly when talking about a native language.

And finally, there was brusque meaning  'direct and not polite' and to the point,  

which also means 'direct and  without unnecessary information'.

Hey Rob

Yes, what can I do for you Dan?

End the programme.

Certainly Dan. Well that's all from us today,  be sure to check us out on all the usual places:  

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube,  

and of course please don't forget our  website bbclearningenglish.com. Bye