3 percent of employees in the US welcome AI services like ChatGPT to help them make the right decision at the workplace. A big majority of almost 80 percent though wants such digital tools to be instantly recognizable as machines. These are results of the automatica trend index 2023. For the study, 1,000 employees were surveyed in the US on behalf of the leading trade fair for smart automation and robotics automatica, whch kicks off today in Munich.
“Robotics and Artificial Intelligence software like ChatGPT rapidly shape the workplace of the future. If we get the use of these technologies right, we can vastly improve workplaces,” says Patrick Schwarzkopf, advisory board member of automatica at Messe Munich in Germany.
Human-in-command approach
As machines and humans interact more closely, people in the US advocate for a human-in-command approach. 81 percent say the use of digital technology needs to leave control to people. This is in line with the ‘Good Work Charter’ of the European Robotics Industry, a guideline for introducing robotics and automation in a way that puts the human in the center.”
Robots taking on the dirty, dull and dangerous jobs
The US automotive industry illustrates the current changes taking place: The government aims to reach a voluntary goal of 50% market share for electric vehicle sales by 2030. Most manufacturers are now investing in industrial robotics and collaborative applications for final assembly and finishing tasks to master the transition. Workers embrace the benefits smart machines can provide: About 70 percent welcome robots in a factory, taking on the dirty, dull and dangerous jobs. When thinking about the future of work, about 20 percent of employees are seriously worried about the use of robots in a factory because workers need to have special training to use them. Another 42 percent have at least mixed feelings. About the same number of people welcome the machines as they lead to more qualified and better paid jobs.
How the workplace of the future will evolve
“We need to actively manage the transition to good collaboration between machines and humans, making sure that people are not left behind,” says Patrick Schwarzkopf. “How traditional manufacturing changes and how the workplace of the future will evolve is one of the key topics at the world´s leading exhibition for smart automation and robotics ‘automatica 2023’ in Munich, Germany.
About the survey “automatica trend index 2023”
The automatica trend index was conducted by the world´s leading exhibition for smart automation and robotics “automatica 2023”, Messe Munich, with the support of a professional market research institute. A total of 5,000 participants in 5 countries were questioned representative of each country´s population on how robots and digitization are changing the world of work:
