Open cloze

In a year when everyone seems to be talking about artificial intelligence, it is easy to forget that most technologies only become truly transformative once they have slipped quietly into 1. background. The smartphone did not change our lives because it was clever, but because it was everywhere, and because it made it possible 2. us to carry, in our own pockets, a map, a diary, a newsroom and, increasingly, a workplace. Yet the next shift may be less visible still: sensors embedded in streets, in homes and even in clothing, 3. will not merely collect data but decide, in real time, what should be done 4. it. Although such systems promise efficiency—fewer traffic jams, lower energy bills, faster diagnoses—they also raise questions about who, exactly, is responsible when something goes wrong, and 5. we will notice the moment when convenience becomes control. Unless there is a serious public debate, the rules will be written 6. those who can afford to write them, and the rest of us will have little choice 7. to comply, regardless of how uneasy it may make 8. feel.