Comprehension : Comprehension

Q 138 / 466

UPSC CSE Prelims 2021

In the immediate future, we will see the increasing commodification of many new technologies-artificial intelligence and robotics, 3D manufacturing, custom made biological and pharmaceutical products, lethal autonomous weapons and driverless cars. This will pose conundrums. The moral question of how a driverless car will decide between hitting jaywalker and swerving and damaging the car has often been debated. The answer is both simple save the human life and complex. At which angle should the car swerve just enough to save the jaywalker or more than enough? If the driverless car is in Dublin, who would take the decision? The Irish Government, or the car’s original code writer in California, or a software programmer in Hyderabad to whom maintenance is outsourced? If different national jurisdictions have different fine print on prioritizing a human life, how will it affect insurance and investment decisions, including transnational ones?

Which of the following statements best reflect the rational, plausible, and practical implications that can be derived from the passage given above?

  1. Too much globalization is not in the best interests of any country.
  2. Modern technologies are increasingly blurring the economic borders.
  3. Innovation and capital have impinged on the domain of the state.
  4. Public policy of every country should focus on developing its own supply chains.
  5. Geopolitics will have to reconcile to many ambiguities and uncertainties.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

EXPLANATION

Correct Option (c)

Statements 2, 3, and 5 accurately reflect the rational, plausible, and practical implications derivable from the passage.

  • Statement 2: The passage illustrates how modern technologies, through examples like a driverless car's code written in California, maintained in Hyderabad, and operating in Dublin, transcend national economic and regulatory boundaries, thereby blurring them.
  • Statement 3: The passage presents scenarios where technological advancements and the capital driving them create ethical and legal dilemmas (e.g., decision-making authority for autonomous systems) that challenge the traditional domain and regulatory capacity of the state.
  • Statement 5: The passage explicitly discusses various ambiguities and uncertainties, including differing national jurisdictions, moral conundrums, and their implications for transnational insurance and investment, indicating that geopolitics must contend with these complexities.

Incorrect Options:

  • Statement 1: The passage discusses the challenges and dilemmas arising from the global nature of new technologies but does not critique globalization itself or suggest it is not in the best interests of any country. The statement makes an absolute claim unsupported by the text.
  • Statement 4: The passage focuses on identifying and exploring the ethical, legal, and jurisdictional dilemmas posed by emerging technologies. It does not propose policy solutions such as focusing on developing domestic supply chains.