A new global study from Hexagon just dropped some interesting stats about how people feel about robots, and honestly the vibe is kinda wild. The research, called Robot Generation, surveyed 18,000 people across nine countries and found that the more people actually see robots in real life, the less they freak out about them. Basically, when robots are rare, the anxiety levels go full “uh-oh mode.”
The United Kingdom is leading the robot anxiety leaderboard, with 52% of adults saying they feel worried something might go wrong if they had to interact with robots. The United States and Brazil are tied at 45%, while Germany and China both sit at 44%. India follows with 42%, Switzerland at 39%, and Japan at 35%. South Korea is the most chill about robots, with only 29% saying they feel nervous about them.
The study shows that exposure is a huge deal. In the UK, only 30% of adults have actually seen or used robots in real life, which might explain the nervous energy. Meanwhile, in China, robots are way more common, with 75% of adults saying they’ve seen or used one. People there are also the most hyped about the future of robotics, with 81% saying they’re excited about what robots could do next.
Another interesting takeaway is that people aren’t totally anti-robot. The comfort level really depends on where robots are being used. Most adults are pretty okay with robots working in factories and warehouses, where tasks are clear and safety rules are solid. About 63% said they’re comfortable with robots in those environments. But once robots move into homes or classrooms, the comfort level drops, with only 46% feeling okay about robots in homes and 39% in classrooms.
Surprisingly, the biggest fear isn’t robots stealing jobs or going rogue like in sci-fi movies. The main concern people have is security. Around 51% of respondents said their biggest worry is robots getting hacked or misused, which could mess with systems and data. Concerns about robots malfunctioning or replacing jobs both came in lower at 41%.
Experts involved in the research say the fix for robot anxiety is actually pretty simple: let people see robots doing real jobs safely. When robots are visible, clearly explained, and shown working alongside humans, people tend to relax about the whole thing. In other words, once people meet robots and see they’re just doing their assigned tasks, the whole “robots taking over the world” storyline starts looking a lot less scary.
