Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow:-
In January 2015, Stephen Hawking along with Elon Musk and many AI experts, signed an open letter on artificial intelligence, calling for serious research into its impact on society. In the past, Elon Musk has warned that superhuman artificial intelligence is capable of providing incalculable benefits, but if deployed incautiously, will have an adverse effect on the human race. He and I sit on the scientific advisory board for Future of Life Institute, an organisation working to mitigate existential risk facing humanity. This called for concrete research on how we could prevent potential problems while also reaping the potential benefits AI offers us, and is designed to get AI researchers and developers to pay more attention to AI safety.
Recent developments in the advancement of AI include a call by the European Parliament for drafting a set of regulations to govern the creation of robots and AI. A report presented to the Parliament declares that the world is on the cusp of a new industrial robot revolution. It stresses that at all times researchers and designers should ensure all robotic design incorporates a kill switch. There is a possibility that within a few decades AI could surpass human intellectual capacity and challenge the human-robot relationship.
By 2025, there will be about 30 mega cities with more than 10 million inhabitants. Robots will definitely speed up the retail process, but to revolutionise shopping, they need to be fast enough to allow same-day delivery on every order. Recent AI landmarks such as self-driving cars, or a computer game winning at the game of Go, etc. are signs of what is to come. Enormous levels of investment are pouring into this technology which will eventually permeate every aspect of society including health care, work, education and science.
Our future is a race between the growing power of a technology and the wisdom with which we use it!
What does the word "mitigate" as used in the passage mean:-
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Alleviate
- Mitigate means to make something less harmful, serious or painful. The passage says the Future of Life Institute is an organisation working to mitigate existential risk facing humanity, that is, to reduce the danger AI may pose to human existence.
Example: Planting trees along the river helped mitigate the damage caused by floods. - Alleviate means to make a problem, pain or suffering less severe. Lessening a risk is what mitigate means here, so alleviate is the closest meaning.
Example: The medicine alleviated her headache within an hour.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: Strengthen — Incorrect. To strengthen is to make something stronger. An organisation working for AI safety would not try to make the risk to humanity stronger.
Example: Regular exercise strengthens the muscles.
Option 3: Aggravate — Incorrect. To aggravate is to make a bad situation worse, the opposite of mitigate.
Example: Scratching the wound will only aggravate the infection.
Option 4: Intensify — Incorrect. To intensify is to make something stronger or more extreme. This too is the opposite of reducing a risk.
Example: The police intensified their search after dark.
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