UPSC Prelims 2026 CSAT Paper II · Q52 of 70 Comprehension medium

Passage

Directions for the next 2 (two) items : Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers should be based solely on the passage. Passage Previous waves of customer-service technology, including email and those pesky voice menus, stoked concerns of job losses, only for them to fail to materialise. AI could yet prove different. And if it does, its effects may be salutary. Human agents could be freed up to spend more time on creative and rewarding tasks, like using feedback to make products and services better—and thereby spend less time listening to irate customers!

Which one among the following statements most appropriately reflects the point of view of the given passage?

  1. (a) If AI were to take over customer service, there would be no work left for human subjects to do.
  2. (b) Irritating voice menus and email could not achieve human redundancy to the extent that AI might.
  3. (c) The value of human intervention in the workplace affected by AI might be enhanced through redirection towards more fulfilling tasks. ✓ UPSC's answer
  4. (d) Unlike previous waves in customer-service technology, AI has raised the alarm of worker replacement.

Why the answer is (c)

• The passage states that previous technologies like email and voice menus raised job loss concerns that did not materialize, but AI might be different.

• It argues that if AI replaces routine tasks, the effects could be 'salutary' (beneficial).

• Specifically, it notes that human agents would be freed to focus on 'creative and rewarding tasks' such as using feedback to improve products.

• This implies that the role of humans is not eliminated but redirected toward more valuable, fulfilling work.

• Therefore, option (c) correctly captures the view that human value is enhanced through this redirection.

Why the other options are wrong

(a) If AI were to take over customer service, there would be no work left for human subjects…
The passage explicitly states that human agents would be freed up for creative tasks, not that there would be no work left for them.
(b) Irritating voice menus and email could not achieve human redundancy to the extent that AI…
While the passage mentions previous technologies failed to cause job losses, the main point is the positive redirection of human labor, not just a comparison of redundancy levels.
(d) Unlike previous waves in customer-service technology, AI has raised the alarm of worker…
The passage acknowledges that AI raises concerns, but its primary argument is about the potential positive outcome (salutary effects) rather than just the alarm itself.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2026, held on 24 May 2026. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

Practise this paper free