Technology is progressing at breakneck speeds across several verticals, from advances in genetic engineering to rapid developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
While these technological advancements are designed with the promise of enhancing the quality of human life, consumers worldwide are becoming anxious about the potential downsides of some technological advancements.
A new YouGov study, which surveys consumers across 17 markets globally, reveals the volume of consumers that are concerned about various types of modern technology.
One of the biggest concerns worldwide has to do with driverless cars, with half of consumers (49%) saying they strongly agree or somewhat agree with the statement, “I am worried about driverless cars”.
A similar portion of global consumers also express concerns about gene editing (47%), while 45% are bothered by the prospect of robots taking jobs.
Two in five people are worried about artificial intelligence (41%). This figure broadly corroborates with our findings from a far more detailed study on consumer perceptions around automation and artificial intelligence, which will be published as a whitepaper in the coming weeks.
By contrast to the above categories, only a fifth of consumers are worried about 5G technology (20%).
These concerns aren’t standard across all markets, with significant regional variances in the levels of concern found among consumers with regards to each category. For instance, only one in 11 consumers in Britain (9%) are worried about 5G, but more than two in five Indians express concerns over the same (43%). Similarly, over half the population in France (54%) expresses worry about artificial intelligence, but that number dips to 31% in Sweden.
Data about concerns surrounding technological advances can be beneficial to marketers and a knowledge of where the concerns are most prevalent can help tailor messaging to each specific region. Over the course of the next month, we will publish articles exploring each topic in greater detail.
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Methodology: The data is based on the interviews of adults aged 18 and over in 17 markets with sample sizes varying between 511 and 2,018 for each market. All interviews were conducted online in February 2021. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. The data is based on the interviews of adults aged 18 and over in 17 markets with sample sizes varying between 511 and 2,018 for each market. All interviews were conducted online in February 2021. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples.
