Technologie, numérique et société

Exercice 1 — Reading comprehension
1) The first thing Léa sees every morning is her social media feed: 'a feed assembled overnight by an algorithm she has never met and will never understand.' It was created by an algorithm, not by her. (1 pt for the content, 1 pt for a relevant quote.) 2) The app personalises her feed according to her habits and emotions, showing her precisely what will keep her hooked: 'exactly the videos that will keep her watching: outrage in the morning, comfort at night, an endless stream tuned to her moods.' Reward any answer mentioning that the content is targeted at her moods to maximise watch time. 3) Most students answer 'I do', because they believe they freely choose what they watch. Léa is not so sure because she remembers losing control — 'evenings when she had planned to watch one short clip and surfaced two hours later, with no memory of choosing any of them' — so the algorithm, not she, was in charge. 4) 'We think we are scrolling, but the truth is that we are also being scrolled.' 5) Expected: 'I had stopped watching myself' means she had stopped being aware of her own choices, desires and limits — she had let the algorithm think and decide for her instead of reflecting for herself. The deeper fear is not surveillance by a machine ('not that a machine watches me') but the loss of autonomy and self-awareness: algorithms shape our attention, predict our behaviour and quietly erode our free will. Reward any nuanced answer linking algorithmic personalisation to the loss of personal agency / critical distance.

Exercice 2 — Vocabulary and grammar in context
1) 'The CEO claimed that he would never sell their data.' (will → would in reported speech). 2) 'platforms must remove illegal content' (also accept 'have to' — strong, externally imposed obligation). 3) 'Cambridge Analytica, which harvested millions of profiles, was eventually shut down.' (non-defining relative referring to a thing → which, not that). 4) 'a deepfake.'

Exercice 3 — Written expression
Expected points: a clear, nuanced thesis rather than a flat 'good/bad'; a balanced structure (arguments for / against / personal stance); at least two concrete examples (a platform, a scandal such as Cambridge Analytica, a personal habit); accurate chapter lexicon (algorithm, feed, echo chamber, disinformation, deepfake, screen time, data protection); correct use of modals, relative clauses and connectors.

Sample (subject A): "It is often argued that algorithms should not decide what we read, watch and believe. I largely agree. These programs, which are designed to maximise our attention, trap us in echo chambers where we only meet opinions we already hold. The Cambridge Analytica scandal showed how recommendation systems can even be used to manipulate elections, and deepfakes now make disinformation almost impossible to detect. However, banning algorithms entirely would be unrealistic: they also help us find useful information and discover new ideas. The real problem is the lack of transparency and control. Platforms must explain how their algorithms work, and users ought to be able to switch them off. On balance, we should not surrender our judgement to a machine; technology must serve our freedom, not replace it." (≈140 words) Reward structure, examples and accurate language.