Full Explanation

Sentence Structure & Logic

The sentence argues that navigation apps are doing more than offering convenience. When we let an app choose our driving route, our restaurant, and our playlist, we are gradually surrendering our own judgment.

Blank (i): Each small handoff of judgment trains us to expect algorithms to ______ decisions we once made ourselves unthinkingly.
Blank (ii): Until the ______ such systems have achieved over daily life goes almost entirely unremarked.


The overall logic is about transferring control from humans to algorithms, and then not noticing how much control they have gained.

Blank (i) - assume

The verb must describe what the algorithms are now doing with the decisions we used to make ourselves.

Assume = to take on or take over (a role, duty, or responsibility). When an algorithm "assumes" a decision, it takes over that decision from us.


This fits perfectly: each time we hand off a small choice, we are trained to let the algorithm take over more decisions.

Why not the others:

A. catalog = to list or record systematically. Algorithms can catalog data, but the sentence is about decision-making, not record-keeping.
C. resemble = to look like or be similar to. Algorithms do not "resemble" decisions; they make them.


Blank (ii) - dominion

The word must describe the kind of control or power these systems have achieved over daily life- so much so that we barely notice it.

Dominion = sovereign power, control, or dominance over something. This perfectly captures the idea of algorithms having extensive, unnoticed control over our daily choices.

Why not the others:

E. reluctance toward = hesitation or unwillingness regarding. Algorithms do not feel reluctance; the sentence is about their power, not their attitude.
F. obscurity of = the state of being unknown or unclear. The sentence says the dominion goes unremarked-not that the systems themselves are obscure.