Are Robots/AI Viewed as More of a Workforce Threat in Unequal Societies? Evidence From the Eurobarometer Survey

Abstract

Although advanced technologies (i.e., artificial intelligence [AI], robots) are often discussed as drivers of societal inequality, our research examines whether people living in more unequal societies tend to view technology as a greater threat to jobs in general. Building from research that societal inequality heightens concerns about status hierarchies and future resource attainment, we anticipated that workers in more unequal societies would tend to view AI/robots as greater threats (e.g., AI/robots as job destroyers). Utilizing the Eurobarometer 87.1 data set, we found that country inequality, as operationalized via the Gini index, was positively associated with perceptions that AI/robots pose threats of general job loss. These relationships occurred when controlling for people’s perceptions of technological threat to their own personal job, technology skills and interests, and demographics. Moreover, these findings are robust across alternative operationalizations of inequality including the Human Inequality Index and people's subjective perceptions of current and future inequality in their country. These findings advance theory on inequality and suggest that the broader context - both objective and perceived - may play a role in how people view disruption associated with AI/robots at work.