In the following passage, some words have been omitted. Read the passage carefully and choose the most appropriate option from the given alternatives to fill in each blank. Mark your answer for each question.
As artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into daily life, debates around its ethical use are growing louder. Machines now make decisions that were once the (1)_____ of human judgment-from recommending medical treatments to scanning resumes. While Al offers speed and efficiency, it lacks moral (2)_____ raising concerns about bias, accountability, and transparency. Critics argue that without strict ethical frameworks, Al could reinforce social inequalities or even make harmful choices with no clear line of (3)_____. Developers face the challenge of embedding values into code-yet whose values should apply? In multicultural societies, defining what is "right" is rarely (4)_____. Some suggest collaborative oversight involving ethicists, technologists, and policymakers. Others warn that regulation must evolve faster than innovation to prevent misuse. In the race to build smarter systems, the real question remains: can we create machines that are not just intelligent, but also (5)_____ ?
What would come in (3)
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
In the context of the passage, the blank (3) follows a discussion about AI making "harmful choices" and the lack of "strict ethical frameworks." The phrase "no clear line of accountability" refers to the difficulty in assigning responsibility when an automated system causes harm. Without a human explicitly making the decision, it becomes unclear who is to blame—the developer, the user, or the machine itself. This aligns with the preceding mention of "accountability" as one of the growing concerns in the third sentence of the passage.
Other options do not fit in the context:
argument: While debates exist, the sentence specifically addresses the consequences of "harmful choices." A "line of argument" typically refers to a sequence of reasoning in a debate, which does not fit the context of identifying who is responsible for a bad outcome.
command: AI operates based on programmed commands, but "line of command" usually refers to military or organizational hierarchy. The passage focuses on the ethical consequences of autonomous decisions, not the chain of orders.
conduct: Conduct refers to behavior or the way a task is managed. While AI has "conduct" in terms of how it processes data, "line of conduct" is not a standard idiomatic phrase used to describe the missing ethical link or responsibility for harmful AI actions.