Which one of the following statements best reflects the most critical inference that can be made from the passage given above?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) Computers are not completely safe.
Computers now run cars, aeroplanes and medical devices, there is little evidence they are more trustworthy than desktops, and hackers have already taken control of cars and pacemakers. The direct inference is that computers are not completely safe; blaming companies or calling for laws goes beyond the text.
- ✓ (a) 'Little evidence that these gadgets will be any more trustworthy' plus hackers controlling 'cars and pacemakers' leads straight to this.
- ✗ (b) The attitude of software companies is never discussed; this assigns blame the passage does not.
- ✗ (c) Laws are a remedy the passage never proposes; an inference should come from the text, not add a solution.
- ✗ (d) Too general and vague; it misses the passage's specific point about vulnerability to hacking.
Remember · Choose the inference the evidence directly supports; drop options that assign blame or prescribe remedies the passage never mentions.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·