Source of article The Jury Room - Keene Trial Consulting.
Jokes about robots taking over the world aside, here are some (perhaps surprisingly) ambivalent findings about Americans’ comfort with the rise of artificial intelligence and automation.
If you have read this blog for long, you know we rely on the Pew Research Center to help us keep up on changing attitudes, beliefs and values of the American public. This time, they are examining the positive benefits Americans see as technology continues to develop. However, there is also a clear discomfort with how far technology will go that leaves survey respondents a bit anxious. (We have blogged about this same ambivalence before when we looked at comfort with genetic editing and gene therapies.)
This survey focused on American reactions to a number of automation advances: : “workplace automation, driverless cars, robot caregivers, and computer algorithms that evaluate and hire job applicants”.
As always, we encourage you to read the entire survey but here are the six key findings Pew Research wants you to consider:
The public generally expresses more worry than enthusiasm about emerging automation technologies —especially when it comes 
to jobs.
Americans are reluctant to incorporate these types of technologies into their own lives.
The public supports policies that would limit the scope of automation technologies.
Americans think automation will likely disrupt a number of professions – but relatively few think their own jobs are at risk.
Some workers report that they already have been impacted by automation.
Americans worry widespread automation will lead to more inequality and leave people adrift in their lives.
From a litigation advocacy perspective, as with many surveys, the item left out of this survey is the personal one. How might this help you or your loved ones if injured or debilitated? For example, a robot caregiver could avoid injury to human caregivers in trying to lift or physically care for someone. When the human face is put onto technology, it often makes a difference at trial.
Pew Research Center, (October 4, 2017). 6 key findings on how Americans see the rise of automation. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/10/04/6-key-findings-on-how-americans-see-the-rise-of-automation/
