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Hello and welcome to 6 Minute
English from BBC Learning English.
I'm Beth.
And I'm Neil.
Don't forget
that you can find a transcript
and a quiz for this episode on
our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
Now today, Neil, we're talking all
about solving crime.
Do you think you'd be
a good detective?
Actually, no, Beth.
I think my brain's not very good
with details!
Today, we'll be talking
about how artificial intelligence
might help detectives
and the police investigate crimes.
But first, I have a question
for you, Beth –
in the UK, lots of people
enjoy watching
fictional detectives on TV.
These programmes
are called murder mysteries
and tell the story
of a detective solving a crime.
In 2020, a magazine called
the Radio Times asked readers
who their favourite TV detective was.
So, who do you think was
the most popular?
Was it a) Sherlock Holmes,
b) Hercule Poirot, or c) Miss Marple?
Surely it's Sherlock Holmes?
Well, you sound very sure,
but I will reveal the answer
at the end of the programme.
Now, when the police are investigating
crimes in the real world,
their techniques are often
quite different
from what we see on television.
Yes. Solving
crimes involves collecting
and reviewing lots of evidence
like DNA, fingerprints, or CCTV.
All of this work takes a lot of time.
So, can AI help police speed up
the work and even solve crimes?
That's the question listener Alastair
had for the BBC Radio 4 programme,
The Artificial Human.
And host Alex Krotoski wanted
to know more.
So, Alastair,
why are you asking this question?
Tell us a little bit about yourself
and where you're coming from.
So, my name's Alastair and
I'm a serving police officer.
My background is with investigation.
I'm looking at artificial intelligence
and thinking, "What can it do for me?"
Alex asks Alastair to explain
where he's coming from.
This means explain his perspective
or point of view.
In informal English,
we'll often ask someone,
"Do you get where I'm coming from?"
And we're asking whether they understand
our opinion or perspective.
Alastair explains that he's interested
in how artificial intelligence
could help solve crimes,
because he's a police officer
with a background in investigations.
If you have a background
in something,
it means most of your previous work
or experience was related to something.
For example, I work as a producer
at BBC Learning English now,
making programmes,
but my background is
in classroom teaching.
Alastair talks about using
artificial intelligence for training
and asks, "What can it do for me?"
This means, "How can artificial
intelligence help or improve something?"
When a crime happens,
police officers have to collect
and review a lot of information
to find evidence.
When you have a lot of information to
review, it can be difficult to know
what's important and find patterns
which might be relevant to the crime.
But Professor Ruth Morgan, an expert
in crime and forensic science,
thinks AI could help speed up
police work.
As she told BBC Radio 4's
The Artificial Human.
I think we're seeing a renaissance
in the pattern-recognition forms
of evidence: so, finger marks,
footwear marks.
There's been lots of challenges
with those forms of evidence
over the last ten years, probably
going a little bit out of favour.
And yet what
we're beginning to see now
with AI is that you can take a photo
of a mark with your phone,
compare that mark to the database
and get real-time insight.
Ruth says there's a renaissance
in looking at patterns in evidence,
such as finger marks
or footwear marks.
Renaissance means new interest or
activity in a particular topic or area.
This kind of evidence went a little
bit out of favour over recent years
because of the excitement
around DNA evidence.
If something is out of favour,
it's less popular or appealing.
But AI could mean
that patterns in finger marks
or footwear marks are useful
in solving crimes again.
This is because AI can be used
to compare a picture of a mark
with a database of pictures from
other crimes and get real-time insight.
The adjective real-time means
the information is presented
at the same time that it's happening.
Yes, AI can compare lots
of information very quickly,
which makes finding patterns in evidence
much easier and more reliable.
There are some problems
with using AI to solve crimes though.
To find these patterns,
lots of private information
would need to be collected,
and police usually have to give
clear reasons why they need access
to certain information
in their investigations.
It's unlikely an AI-powered robot would
ever replace a detective anytime soon!
Yes, and that reminds me
of your question, Neil.
I said that Sherlock Holmes was maybe
the most popular detective. Was I right?
You were absolutely right.
And I think people should try
the quiz on our website to find out
how much they know as well.
It's at bbclearningenglish.com.
OK. Let's recap the vocabulary
we've learned,
starting with the expression
where you're coming from,
which means your opinion
or perspective on something.
Your background is the area that
you have the most work experience in.
The question
'what can this do for me?'
means 'how can this help
or improve things?'
Renaissance means new interest
or activity in something.
If something is out of favour, it
has become less popular or appealing.
And the adjective real-time means
information is presented
as it is happening.
Once again, our six minutes are up.
Head to our website to find
more episodes of 6 Minute English
at bbclearningenglish.com.
Bye for now!
Bye.
Vocabulary
Word 1 of 15detective
word
0:25
"a police officer or investigator whose job is to solve crimes."
More Listening Practice
About this lesson
Find out how artificial intelligence is being used by police and investigators to solve crimes in this 6 Minute English episode.