Automation is changing America. As many as 73 million American jobs could be lost to automation by 2030, and economists have writen at length about the consequences this transformation. However, atutomation may have implications beyond the economy, and few have considered how robots will change America's social fabric.
One possibility, raised by Andrew Yang, a Democratic presidential candidate, is that automation will turn people against each other, fueling distrust and anger. In an interview last year, Yang claimed tht "all you need is self-driving cars to destabilize society", speculating that automation could "create riots in the streets" since so many men work as truck drivers.
Past technological revolutions are infamous for fueling prejudice and discrimination. Industrialization in the United States in late 19th century, for example, brought in a era of ethnic as immigrants from Eastern Europe and Asia were described as devils for taking low-paying job.
Some data suggest that the current wave of automation will be no different. In our analysis of 37 nations, we found that the countries with the highest density of working robots have grown more prejudiced and distrustful of foreigners over the last 40 years. Nations with rising rates of automation also tend to have rising rates of unemployments, and unemployment connected with prejudice.
However, politicians often blame immigrants for rising unemployment even in cases where automation led to job loss. This raises an interesting question: If people were more aware of a rising robot workforce, would they still react with distrust and prejudice toward immigrants and minorities?
Our new research found that people's awareness of a growing robot workforce may actually improve social relations. We conducted seven experiments, showing that when people are exposed to belong to information about the rising prevalence of robot workers, they feel less prejudice toward people who belong to different demographic groups.
The finding reflect important truths about the psychology of prejudice. Humans will always separate "us" from "them". This may be universal instinct. But whom we choose to classify as "us" or "them" appears to be much more flexible. Robot workers might have such an effect, leading people to find common ground with others whom they typically see as different.
