Nearly two-thirds of Americans expect that robots and computers will do much of the work currently done by humans by the year 2065, according to findings from a new research study from the Pew Research Center that charts public predictions on the future of workforce automation.
The report, released today, tracks the public perception of workforce automation, not of the actual process of workforce automation.
“The ultimate extent to which robots and algorithms intrude on the human workforce will depend on a host of factors, but many Americans expect that this shift will become reality over the next half-century,” said Aaron Smith in the summary accompanying the announcement of the report.
The study, conducted between June 10 and July 12, 2015, tracked answers from 2,001 American adults, and demonstrate that 65% of Americans expect that within 50 years robots and computers will either “definitely” or “probably” do much of the work currently being done by humans.
Yet the report also shows that 80% of all Americans surveyed expect that their own jobs and professions will remain largely unchanged by workforce automation and will exist in their current forms 50 years from now. Though 11% of workers are somewhat concerned that they might lose their jobs to a robot or a computer within the next 50 years, most workers are concerned with more immediate and pressing anxieties: displacement by lower-paid human workers, broad changes to industries, or mismanagement by their employers, found the study.
The full executive summary and report can be found online at the Pew Research Center: http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/03/10/public-predictions-for-the-future-of-workforce-automation/
