- Report reveals public support for robots in the workplace is increasing, especially for physical or dangerous tasks
- Willingness to accept a robot in the home grows with exposure to real life
- Familiarity and clear governance are essential to overcome public fear
Technological capabilities may no longer be the limiting factor when it comes to how and where robots can be deployed, and new research from Hexagon reveals that public support is not always there.
The company found that much of the public is increasingly accepting of robots in the workplace, but only when they are used for practical, physical or dangerous jobs.
However, roles that require empathy, judgment or human interaction remain poorly supported.
Robots are more accepted in practical cases of work use.
For example, more than half (56%) of the more than 1,000 adults surveyed in the UK said they would accept robots for lifting and carrying heavy objects. Transportation and delivery of any item (38%) and monitoring for hazards and dangerous environments (34%) also received reasonable support.
Now that airports, some supermarkets and other public places employ robots, 31% would even support their use for cleaning shared spaces.
Although the research does not detail perception by age group, the company surveyed an equal number of UK children to reveal that lifting, carrying and delivering heavy objects is even more accepted among those under 18.
However, while repetitive physical work is generally well accepted, 82% of UK adults want humans to care for the sick, elderly and young.
Only 5% say they would choose a robot caregiver, making it the lowest support for any of the tasks included in the report. Even children seem reluctant to have non-human personal interactions: 79% prefer human caregivers and 8% are willing to choose a robot.
But Dr. Blay Whitby, a technology ethicist at Hexagon, argues that a simple rephrasing could distort these figures: “Ask people if they want a robot to look after them, and most say no… Ask them if technology should help them stay independent in their own home for longer, and most say yes.”
Associate Professor of Moral Psychology Dr. Jim Everett sees robots more as “assistive devices” in nursing homes and classrooms than as human substitutes.
Exposure can dramatically change public perception
For now, the public still views robots as industrial automation functions. More than half agree that their natural homes are factories (53%) and warehouses (53%), fewer consider hospitals and clinics (34%) or classrooms (30%) as their homes.
Fear of the unknown could be another obstacle: only 28% of UK adults think having a robot colleague would be exciting; nearly half (46%) say it would be terrifying. Humanoid shapes are clearly disturbing: twice as many people prefer machine-like robots (27%) as human-like robots (14%).
Sci-fi fears about the arrival of robots could also be influencing public perception. Almost all UK adults (88%) want clear rules governing what robots can do.
“Industrial environments are where robot tasks are most defined, safety cases are mature, and governance is in the public eye,” concluded Hexagon CTO Burkhard Boeckem.
Global comparisons support the fear of the unknown theory: while 30% of UK adults have encountered robots in real life, 75% have done so in China. A country that is almost twice as likely (63%) to accept robots in the home compared to the UK (32%).
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