In Advanced and Emerging Economies Alike, Worries About Job Automation
Across the globe, new technologies are transforming the nature of work. Advances in robotics and artificial intelligence are displacing jobs in manufacturing and, increasingly, in the service sector. And while automation may boost productivity and overall economic growth, there is a recognition that it will also disrupt the workplace, with repercussions for workers, employers, education systems and governments.
Average citizens see a revolution coming in the workplace, and they are concerned. As a new Pew Research Center study of public opinion in 10 countries highlights, there is a widely shared view that the nature of work will likely be transformed over the next half-century, though not everyone is equally convinced.
In some countries and economic sectors, of course, the transformation of the workplace has already begun. In South Korea, there are more than 600 installed industrial robots for every 10,000 workers in manufacturing facilities. In Japan there are more than 300 and in the United States nearly 200. Profit maximization, and the relatively high cost of human labor, helps drive automation. The average hourly cost of a manufacturing worker is $49 in Germany and $36 in the U.S. The hourly cost of a robot is $4. How far will the use of computers and artificial intelligence spread? The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Worries about shrinking the job market are widely shared among both men and women and across age groups. Japan and Brazil, however, stand out as countries where those ages 18 to 29 are significantly more worried than older generations about the impact of automation on employment.
Many in the nations surveyed also believe that the greater use of robots and computers will worsen inequality between the rich and the poor. More than eight-in-ten in Greece, Argentina, Japan and Brazil express this view, as do more than seven-in-ten in Canada, South Africa, the U.S. and Hungary. Worsening inequality due to technological advances is a particular concern among the more highly educated in countries such as Japan, South Africa and Brazil.
Along with concern about negative consequences, there is widespread skepticism about the potential economic benefits of automation. Only in Japan, Poland and Hungary does half or more of the public believe that automation will enable their economy to become more efficient. Older Canadians – those ages 50 and older – are particularly dubious of the purported efficiency gains from using more robots and computers. Women are especially skeptical in Canada, Japan, Argentina and Brazil, as are people with less than a college education in Greece, Italy and Japan.
Government investment to help workers adapt to the new technological age varies greatly from country to country. Denmark, for instance, spends 3.22% of its gross domestic product on active and passive labor market policies, Next: Methodology
