A new study indicates Europeans welcome the increasing role robots are playing in society.
That is the message from the Eurobarometer, published by the European Commission. The purpose of the research is to gauge opinion across the continent on matters relating to digitisation and automation. Nearly 30,000 people, from the 28 member countries, took part in the face-to-face survey.
It found that 68% of respondents gave the thumbs up to robots and artificial intelligence (AI), believing them to be a good thing for society – because they make life easier. A third also said they would be happy for robots to assist them at their place of work, or deliver parcels to their home.
— DigitalSingleMarket (@DSMeu) May 24, 2017
In its recent UK Economic Outlook, PwC looked at the likely impact of robotics on employment across industry sectors worldwide. It said that “no industry is entirely immune from future advances in robotics and AI”. But while it accepts robots would take over some jobs, PwC chief economist John Hawksworth said that “automating more manual and repetitive tasks” could free up workers to “focus on higher value, more rewarding and creative work, removing the monotony from our day jobs.”