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 Al 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:-

Alleviate

The correct answer is Option (1) → Alleviate

• Mitigate means to make something less severe, serious, or painful; to lessen the gravity of a situation.

• The phrase in the passage is: "...an organisation working to mitigate existential risk facing humanity." Their goal is to lessen or reduce the severity of the risk.

• Alleviate is a direct synonym for mitigate, meaning to make suffering, deficiency, or a problem less severe.

  The other options are opposites:

  • Strengthen → increase

  • Aggravate → make worse

  • Intensify → increase in strength