English Language Questions for CLAT | QB Set 53

Topic: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Employment

For centuries, technological progress has been accompanied by a familiar anxiety: machines will eventually replace human workers. During the Industrial Revolution, mechanical looms threatened traditional weavers. Later, computers transformed offices, eliminating certain clerical tasks while creating entirely new professions. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) has revived this debate, but with an important difference. Unlike earlier machines that primarily replaced physical labour or repetitive calculations, AI can increasingly perform tasks involving language, analysis and decision-making.

This development has encouraged two competing predictions. Optimists argue that AI will increase productivity, reduce tedious work and generate employment opportunities that are difficult to imagine today. Pessimists warn that businesses may use AI primarily to reduce labour costs, leaving millions of workers struggling to find alternative employment. Both perspectives contain elements of truth, but neither adequately captures the complexity of technological change.

Consider the example of a newspaper. AI systems can already summarise reports, suggest headlines and produce basic articles. However, journalism involves more than arranging information into readable sentences. Investigating corruption, questioning powerful institutions and understanding the experiences of ordinary citizens require judgement, persistence and human relationships. AI may therefore transform journalism without necessarily eliminating journalists. Yet this distinction offers little comfort to an employee whose particular responsibilities become automated.

The deeper challenge lies in the unequal distribution of technological benefits. A company may become more profitable by introducing AI, while employees who previously performed routine tasks face unemployment or reduced wages. Workers with access to quality education and specialised training may adapt more easily, whereas those without such opportunities risk falling further behind. Consequently, technological progress does not automatically translate into social progress.

Some policymakers respond by emphasising reskilling programmes. Although these initiatives are valuable, the assumption that every displaced worker can quickly acquire new skills is unrealistic. A middle-aged employee supporting a family may not possess the financial security or time required for extensive retraining. Moreover, newly created jobs may emerge in different cities or industries, making transitions difficult even for motivated workers.

The future of employment, therefore, should not be viewed as a contest in which humans must defeat increasingly intelligent machines. The more meaningful question is how societies choose to manage technological transformation. Governments can strengthen social protections, educational institutions can encourage adaptable skills and businesses can involve employees in decisions about automation.

Ultimately, AI will influence the nature of work, but its social consequences are not predetermined. Technology determines what becomes possible; human institutions and collective choices determine who benefits from those possibilities.

Multiple-Choice Questions

Q1. Which of the following most accurately captures the central idea of the passage?

(A) Artificial intelligence represents a fundamentally different technological threat because it can replace intellectual work, making widespread unemployment unavoidable.

(B) Artificial intelligence will eventually create more employment opportunities than it eliminates, provided workers continuously upgrade their skills.

(C) The employment consequences of artificial intelligence depend not merely on technological capabilities but also on how societies distribute benefits and manage transitions.

(D) Governments should prioritise protecting existing jobs over encouraging technological innovation because automation disproportionately harms vulnerable workers.

Q2. Which of the following can most reasonably be inferred from the author’s discussion of journalism?

(A) Although AI may leave the broader profession of journalism intact, individual workers may still suffer when particular responsibilities are automated.

(B) Journalism is relatively protected from automation because AI cannot independently investigate corruption or establish meaningful human relationships.

(C) The introduction of AI into journalism will primarily improve the quality of reporting by allowing journalists to concentrate on investigative work.

(D) Journalists whose routine duties are automated will generally find alternative roles because their professional experience remains valuable.

Q3. What is the author’s primary purpose in discussing the difficulties faced by a middle-aged employee seeking retraining?

(A) To demonstrate that younger workers are inherently more capable of adapting to technological changes than experienced employees.

(B) To suggest that governments should provide direct financial assistance instead of investing in programmes for professional retraining.

(C) To establish that reskilling initiatives are generally ineffective because most displaced workers lack the motivation to learn new skills.

(D) To challenge the assumption that reskilling alone can address unemployment without considering workers’ financial, personal and geographical circumstances.

Q4. In the context of the passage, what does the statement “technological progress does not automatically translate into social progress” most nearly imply?

(A) Technological development should be considered successful only when it completely eliminates unemployment and economic inequality.

(B) Improvements in productivity and profitability do not necessarily improve everyone’s circumstances, particularly when their benefits are distributed unequally.

(C) Technological innovation generally increases economic inequality because businesses prioritise profits over employee welfare.

(D) Social development depends primarily on educational advancement rather than on technological innovation or economic growth.

Q5. Which of the following best describes the author’s overall viewpoint and the conclusion supported by the passage?

(A) Cautiously pessimistic: AI is likely to deepen inequality, and government intervention can only reduce the severity of its consequences.

(B) Strongly optimistic: Historical experience demonstrates that technological innovation ultimately creates sufficient employment for displaced workers.

(C) Critically balanced: AI presents both opportunities and risks, and its effects on employment will depend substantially on deliberate social and institutional choices.

(D) Technologically sceptical: Because AI increasingly performs intellectual tasks, societies should restrict its adoption until workers receive adequate protection.

Answer Key

Detailed Explanations

Q1. Correct Answer: (C)

The passage argues that the effects of AI on employment cannot be understood simply by predicting whether machines will replace workers or create new jobs.

The author considers competing optimistic and pessimistic predictions before emphasising the importance of unequal access to opportunities, economic security, reskilling and institutional intervention.

The concluding statement reinforces this central argument: while technology determines what becomes possible, human institutions and collective decisions influence who receives the benefits.

Therefore, Option (C) most accurately represents the passage’s central idea.

Why the other options are incorrect:

• (A): The passage acknowledges that AI can perform intellectual tasks but does not claim that widespread unemployment is unavoidable.
• (B): The author discusses the possibility of new employment opportunities without guaranteeing that these will exceed job losses.
• (D): Although government intervention is supported, the author does not advocate protecting existing jobs at the expense of innovation.

Q2. Correct Answer: (A)

The author uses journalism to distinguish between the transformation of an entire profession and the automation of particular responsibilities within that profession.

AI can perform activities such as summarising reports and producing basic articles. However, the passage suggests that investigative journalism and work requiring human judgement may continue to depend significantly on people.

Importantly, the author recognises that the survival of journalism as a profession does not guarantee employment security for every journalist.

Thus, Option (A) follows directly from the example.

Why the other options are incorrect:

• (B): This is a plausible distractor because the passage identifies human judgement and relationships as important. However, it overstates the author’s position by suggesting that journalism is relatively protected from automation.
• (C): The passage does not establish that AI will necessarily improve journalistic quality.
• (D): The author specifically highlights the insecurity faced by workers whose responsibilities are automated, without suggesting that they will generally find alternative employment.

Q3. Correct Answer: (D)

The example of a middle-aged employee supporting a family illustrates the practical limitations of relying exclusively on reskilling programmes.

The author acknowledges that reskilling initiatives are valuable. However, displaced workers may face difficulties involving financial responsibilities, limited time and the location of new employment opportunities.

The example therefore challenges an oversimplified assumption that workers can overcome technological displacement merely by acquiring new skills.

Option (D) correctly identifies this purpose.

Why the other options are incorrect:

• (A): The passage does not compare the inherent learning abilities of younger and older workers.
• (B): Although financial insecurity is discussed, the author does not argue that governments should abandon retraining programmes in favour of financial assistance.
• (C): The author questions the sufficiency of reskilling, not its overall value. The passage also does not attribute difficulties to a lack of motivation.

Q4. Correct Answer: (B)

The phrase distinguishes improvements in technological and economic efficiency from improvements in people’s overall well-being.

For instance, AI may increase a company’s profitability while simultaneously causing job losses or reducing wages for certain employees.

Similarly, workers with better education and access to training may benefit more from technological changes than those lacking comparable opportunities.

The statement therefore suggests that technological advancement does not guarantee fair or widespread social benefits.

Option (B) captures this distinction accurately.

Why the other options are incorrect:

• (A): The author does not argue that technological progress must completely eliminate unemployment or inequality to be considered beneficial.
• (C): The passage warns that inequality may increase, but it does not claim that this is the inevitable or general outcome of innovation.
• (D): Education is presented as one important factor rather than the primary or exclusive foundation of social development.

Q5. Correct Answer: (C)

The author’s tone is measured, analytical and critically balanced.

Throughout the passage, the author recognises the potential advantages of AI, including increased productivity and new employment opportunities, while also examining risks such as unemployment, unequal access to education and difficulties in occupational transitions.

Rather than adopting a completely optimistic or pessimistic position, the passage argues that the outcome will depend on the decisions made by governments, educational institutions, businesses and society.

The concluding statement that AI’s social consequences are not predetermined further strengthens this interpretation.

Therefore, Option (C) best reflects both the author’s viewpoint and the conclusion.

Why the other options are incorrect:

• (A): The passage recognises inequality as a serious risk but does not suggest that AI will inevitably deepen it or that intervention can only limit the damage.
• (B): The author does not guarantee that innovation will generate enough employment to accommodate displaced workers.
• (D): Although worker protection is important to the author, the passage does not recommend restricting AI adoption until protective measures are established.