Technological innovation is unstoppable. It advances by leaps and bounds. And many times so quickly that it is completely unaffordable and fully exploited by companies. What is certain is that, of course, it helps them to improve processes, services, management as well as in the production of products and, ultimately, move forward to be more competitive and to be able to update to the demands of a world in constant evolution but what do people think about it? Here the answers vary.
According to the II edition of the Survey on the social perception of innovation in Spain, prepared by the Cotec Foundation and Sigma Dos, 50% of those surveyed believe that said technological innovation is capable of destroying more employment than it generates. Or what is the same: automation eliminates jobs that were previously carried out by the hand of man and now done by machines.
Whether or not this statement is true, there is also 46% of the population who think the opposite. The more technological innovation, the new employment opportunities, especially in tasks and positions that did not exist before or that have seen the need to hire more staff. In addition, as the years go by, trust in technology increases since that distrust of 50% was 52% just five years ago. The distance between those who have an optimistic vision of technology as a generator of employment and those who are pessimistic in this regard has grown, in one year, 11 points.
Towards increasingly technological jobs
Technology, of course, is unstoppable in its application in companies. In fact, up to 66% of the participants believe that a large majority of current jobs will be replaced by machines in the coming years.. And be careful, they will not only be able to carry out tasks in a chain or automated, they will also be able to perform creative tasks –partly thanks to the unstoppable rise of AI–
According to said study, 36% of the population comes to sign feeling unable to compete in an increasingly automated labor market. In fact, pessimism reaches 45% who say they do not feel capable of changing and adapting, while 41% assume that they do not have the financial resources to retrain.
But, Can a robot replace us in a job and be able to carry out our tasks with the same effectiveness? 57% say no, not at all. This represents a ten point increase in confidence compared to a year earlier (47%).
On the other hand, and regarding the impact of technological innovation on work and personal life, 60% of Spaniards believe that technology will favor conciliation and 54% that it will reduce the labor gap between men and women.
Nevertheless, the perception of the effect of technological innovation on social inequality is not positive either. 49% of those surveyed continue to think that this impact is negative, compared to 38% who think the opposite, although it is a less negative view than five years ago, where they earned twice the difference (57% and 35%, respectively). .
Other interesting data collected by the survey are that 84% of Spaniards are in favor of the right of workers to digital disconnection, 28% practice teleworking, 76% reject that some companies profit from their personal data, a 46% have consumed goods and services based on the new digital business platforms in the last year and even 25% have earned some money with them.
