Final answer:
The central ideas of the article relate to the economic benefits of automation and the mixed effects of technological progress, which are best captured by phrases A (Automated services as a cost-effective alternative) and E (Technological advancement's inevitable and mixed impact).
Step-by-step explanation:
The central ideas of the article focus on the impact of technological automation in workplaces and the historical reactions to such changes. Given the context of the article, the two phrases that best identify the central ideas would be:
- A. Automated services are a cheaper, more effective, and less error-prone alternative to employing humans in secretarial positions.
- E. Technological advancement may have both negative and positive economic effects; what is certain is that it is a force that cannot be slowed.
Phrase A represents the economic and efficiency benefits that automation brings to the job market, replacing routine tasks with more cost-effective solutions. On the other hand, Phrase E encapsulates the broader and inevitable march of technological progress and its mixed impact on economies, recognizing both potential setbacks and benefits, which aligns with the article's discussion on AI and its significant effect on the global labor market and productivity.