Which of the following conclusions, made on the basis of the given passage, is/are correct? 1. The advent of new customer-service technology had invariably sparked fears about job losses. 2. Often it is found that instead of job losses, alternative channels for employee engagement are discovered while certain tasks are replaced by technology. 3. The advent of technology inevitably leads to stressful outcomes. Select the answer using the code given below.

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!

Question

CSATMediumPrelims 2026Comprehension

Which of the following conclusions, made on the basis of the given passage, is/are correct?

The advent of new customer-service technology had invariably sparked fears about job losses.
Often it is found that instead of job losses, alternative channels for employee engagement are discovered while certain tasks are replaced by technology.
The advent of technology inevitably leads to stressful outcomes.

Select the answer using the code given below.

Explanation

Answer: D — 1 and 2

Statement 1 — Correct. The passage opens with: "Previous waves of customer-service technology, including email and those pesky voice menus, stoked concerns of job losses…" and then says "AI could yet prove different." The pattern of fears being sparked applies across previous waves and the current one — supporting the claim that this has happened invariably with new customer-service technology.

Statement 2 — Correct. The passage notes that earlier fears of job loss "fail[ed] to materialise," and that AI could free human agents up to "spend more time on creative and rewarding tasks." So technology has historically replaced specific tasks while opening up alternative channels of employee engagement, exactly as the statement says.

Statement 3 — Incorrect. The passage's tone is the opposite — the author thinks AI's effects "may be salutary" because workers can shift to "rewarding tasks." Nothing in the passage supports the sweeping claim that technology inevitably leads to stressful outcomes