While Artificial Intelligence was born prematurely in an era that treated it with skepticism, it overcame the challenges and now boasts of a present where machines perform highly specialized tasks. A few decades more and we may have Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) – machines that are capable of human-level performance on full range of tasks that at present we only can tackle.

But have we accounted for what this progress entails? The future prospects of AGI have led to a marked divide in the scientific community. On one hand, we have the Progressive Scientists who support AGI, and on the other we have the Ethical Scientists who consider the flight to be as perilous as that of Icarus. The Progressive Scientists have maintained a cavalier attitude towards the fear expressed by the Ethical Scientists and have dismissed it as the fear of “unknown”. They realize little that this doubt stems out, not from what is unseen but out of what exists. A look at history shows that humans are themselves far from being reliably human-friendly. We do many terrible things to each other and to many other sensitive creatures with whom we share the planet. If super-intelligent machines can’t prove to be a lot better than us, we’ll be in deep trouble. We’ll have powerful new intelligence amplifying the dark sides of our own fallible natures. Given how catastrophic the consequences could be, the disdain with which the Ethical scientists view the future of AGI does not seem misplaced

1. The central idea of the passage is

A. Discuss the origin of AGI
B. Explain why AGI has failed to achieve its goal
C. Compare the differences in the ideologies of Progressive and Ethical Scientists
D. Discuss an oversight that can cost us dearly
E. Revise a thought held by Ethical Scientists


2. The view that “this doubt stems out, not from what is unseen but out of what exists” refers to which one of the following

A. Resistance of Ethical Scientists
B. Progressive Scientists’ belief that the fear of unknown leads to the skepticism of the Ethical Scientists
C. Ethical Scientists fear of the “unknown”
D. Author’s belief that there was a lack of consensus between the Ethical and the Progressive Scientists
E. Ethical Scientists’ fear of the consequences of what this progress entail


3. The author of the passage asserts which one of the following about the Progressive scientists?

A. They attacked the Ethical Scientists in an unrestrained manner
B. They underscored the problems foreseen by the Ethical Scientists
C. They need to be more serious about the questions raised by the Ethical Scientists
D. They were correct in avoiding x doubts raised by the Ethical Scientists
E. Though they were treated with skepticism, they overcame the challenges


4. What is the attitude of Progressive Scientists towards Ethical Scientists

A. spiteful and envious
B. Reverent and idolatry
C. ignorant and condescending
D. ambivalent but deferential
E. uncertain but interested