Many people in America are worried that machines might do the jobs that people do. People also don’t like using technologies that could do their jobs for them. Most Americans agree with policies that would stop machines from doing too many jobs. Workers think their own jobs might be replaced by machines in the future.
Key Points:
- Americans are concerned about the potential of automation to take away jobs.
- They are also reluctant to use automation technologies themselves.
- Most Americans support policies that would limit the scope of automation technologies.
- Workers think their own jobs are at risk of being automated in the future.
Source Article:
Article Highlights:
- U.S. adults are roughly twice as likely to express worry (72%) as enthusiasm (33%) about a future in which robots and computers are capable of doing many jobs that are currently done by humans. T
- They are also around three times as likely to express worry (67%) as enthusiasm (22%) about algorithms that make hiring decisions without any human involvement.
- By comparison, Americans tend to hold more balanced views toward driverless vehicles and robot caregivers.
- When asked whether they would or would not personally use specific automation technologies, around six-in-ten U.S. adults say they would not want to ride in a driverless car (56%) or have a robot caregiver for themselves or a family member (59%).
- The vast majority of Americans (87%) would favor a requirement that all driverless vehicles have a human in the driver’s seat who can take control of the vehicle in the event of an emergency, with 53% favoring this policy strongly.
- And in the event that robots and computers are able to do most of the jobs that are done by humans today, 85% of Americans are in favor of limiting machines to performing primarily those jobs that are dangerous or unhealthy for humans.
- Majorities also say they would favor the federal government offering a guaranteed income (60%) or creating a national service program that would pay people to perform tasks even if machines could do the job faster or more cheaply (58%).
- A majority of U.S. adults say it is at least somewhat likely that jobs such as fast food workers (77%) and insurance claims processors (65%) will be mostly performed by machines in their lifetime, while around half expect that the same will be true of jobs such as software engineers and legal clerks.
- On the other hand, only three-in-ten workers think it’s at least somewhat likely that their own jobs will be mostly done by robots or computers during their lifetimes.
- In total, 6% of U.S. adults say they have ever personally lost their job, or had their wages or hours reduced, because their employer replaced elements of their position with a machine, robot or computer program.
- The youngest adults are the most likely age group to report that they have been personally impacted by automation: 13% of Americans ages 18 to 24 have experienced at least one of these impacts.
- Roughly three-quarters of Americans (76%) expect that widespread automation of jobs will lead to greater levels of economic inequality than exist today, while nearly two-thirds (64%) expect people will have a hard time finding things to do with their lives.
- At the same time, few Americans – just 25% – say that widespread automation will lead to the economy creating new, higher paying jobs for humans.
Personal Insights:
- I believe learning how to direct, code, use, fix, maintain, and work with robots is going to be one of the essential skills moving forward, much like a generation passed us was so experienced with working with maintaining their automobiles.
- Parents with kids should get them involved with the vex robotics program right away.
- https://www.vexrobotics.com/
