Americans are hopeful automation and robotics technology will have a positive impact on the U.S. economy

Washington DC, October 18, 2023 

Ipsos is partnering up with MIT and Amazon to dive into Americans’ general attitudes and readiness for the implementation of automation and robotics technology in the workplace. The full research will be released in late 2023. These findings are a preview of the study that has been presented at Amazon’s on-site event in Seattle, Washington on October 18, 2023.

The findings of this preview show that while overall Americans are concerned about the impact that implementation of these technologies will have on the job market and job security, they are still hopeful it will have a positive impact on society overall.

Impact of automation and robotics technology

About half or more of all Americans expect automation and robotics technology will have a positive impact on the warehouse sector, consumers, the US economy, the American people, and people in their community.  On the other hand, they expect it will have a negative impact on the US job market. They expect it will decrease job security and increase layoffs.

However, while they worry about the immediate impact of the implementation of these technologies on the workforce, they also expect to see new opportunities. Two in five expect it will create new categories or kinds of jobs (37%) and one in five expect there to be more jobs in research and development (23%).

Americans expect these technologies to cause some turmoil at the industry level. Twenty-nine percent say it will cause some established industries to shut down and 25% expect it to bring new industries.

Experience with these technologies soothes some worries. About one in five employed Americans say their employer currently uses automation technology. Workers who say their employer uses automation technology are significantly more likely to say automation and robotics will have a positive impact on consumers, the American people, and employees in their industry than employees whose employer does not utilize these technologies. They are also more likely to say that this technology will create new kinds or categories of jobs, bring new industries, and increase jobs in research and development.

Republicans are more likely to say the tech will have a negative impact on the US job market, although the majority of Democrats also expect it to have a negative impact. Republicans are more likely to say it will have a negative impact on the US economy, while Democrats and Independents are more likely to say it will have a positive impact.

Readiness to Adapt to Automation and Robotics in the Workplace

About half of Americans say it will be easy for them to adapt to new automation and robotics technology (48%) and 29 percent say it will be difficult for them. About one in five are not sure if they will be able to adapt to this technology. They are slightly less likely to think their co-workers (41%) or their managers/leaders (43%) will have an easy time adapting to these technologies.

Americans are most concerned about how warehouse workers will adapt to working with automation technology. About half of Americans believe warehouse and industrial workers will have a difficult time adapting to robotic and automation technology (48%).

Employees whose employer currently utilizes these technologies are significantly more likely to say will be easy for them to adapt to working with robotic and automation technology than those whose employer does not currently utilize these technologies (70% and 49%, respectively). Notably, these two groups are equally likely to believe it will be difficult for warehouse and industrial workers to adapt to working with these technologies (47% and 50%, respectively).

Americans with less formal education are more likely to worry they will have a difficult time adapting to working with robotics and automation technology. Two in five with a high school diploma or less formal education say they will have a difficult time adapting to this tech in the workplace compared to about one in five who have attended at least some college.

About the Study

This Ipsos poll was conducted between October 6-October 9, 2023, by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,024 general population adults age 18 or older.

The margin of sampling error for this study is plus or minus 3.30 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.18 for all respondents.

In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.

The survey was conducted using KnowledgePanel, the largest and most well-established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult US population. Our recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the US. Households invited to join the panel are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in the sampled households are invited to join and participate in the panel. Those selected who do not already have internet access are provided a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methodologies, samples from KnowledgePanel cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and findings can be reported with a margin of sampling error and projected to the general population.

The data for the total sample were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region, metropolitan status, and household income. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2022 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS).

• Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45–59 and 60+)
• Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other, Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races, Non-Hispanic)
• Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
• Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
• Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
• Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
• Party ID (Democrat, Republican, Independent, Something else)

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Jennifer Berg
Vice President, US
Public Affairs
+1 312 526 4224
[email protected]

About Ipsos

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