According to the Automatica Trend Index 2018 report, the majority of workers in the U.S. and U.K. think that A.I.-powered robotics will perform a vital role in assisting human workers. The report was revealed during this week’s Automatica 2018 event and the figures actually oppose more general sentiments about the technology. In fact, as many as 74-percent of U.S. employees believe that A.I. will improve working conditions via robotics effectively assisting human workers. That’s compared to 67-percent of workers in the U.K. However there is a reversal in majority between the two countries in terms of who should control the technology. Although as many as 70-percent of those in the U.S. believe that the A.I. will be placed in the government’s hands, 74-percent of their counterparts overseas think that it will be controlled by legal regulation.
The general sentiment surrounding that optimism appears to stem from the belief that humans are building the A.I. and that will result in human-centric solutions which benefit humans. That’s according to Googler Dr. Wieland Holfelder, speaking before the event. The sentiment carries through for workers in pertinent fields that may see an uptick in A.I. implementations despite concerns from the wider public about jobs disappearing because of the advances. A.I. and robotics, in particular, have faced serious scrutiny over the past several months amidst those concerns and other similar worries. That’s resulted in legislation severely limiting the use of innovations such as robotic delivery mediums and been fueled further by missteps from Uber and other companies focusing efforts on autonomous vehicles.
The new report seems to indicate that minds are beginning to change on the matter and workers are ready to embrace the use of advanced A.I.-powered robotics in the workplace. The workers surveyed for the associated study also believe the term “A.I.” is misleading since, generally speaking, artificial intelligence doesn’t necessarily mean machine learning. To the workers, that means that it doesn’t pose a threat since it will primarily perform narrow functions that will make the workers themselves more efficient and productive. At the same time, robotics can serve as a way to remove various hazard tasks from a given job, reducing the chances of an injury occurring and improving the well-being of employees.