64% Of Employees Trust Robots More Than Their Human Managers, Survey Finds

18/10/2019

If ever computers get as smart, or smarter than humans, the main difference between the two is that, the former is made from software and the latter, with blood and organs.

While in 2019, humans have yet to see whether computers with AI can really replace jobs, a study conducted by the U.S. company Oracle, with the help of the research firm Future Workplace, found that 64% of workers actually trust their computer bosses rather than their human managers.

After surveying 8,379 employees, managers and human resources in 10 different countries from July to August 2019, the findings revealed that people in China have a higher level of trust in robots in workplace (88%), way above the global average (64%).

China here is slightly behind India (89%).

The two are followed by: Singapore (83%), Brazil (78%), Japan (76%), UAE (74%), Australia/New Zealand (58%), U.S. (57%), UK (54%) and France (56%).

Two-thirds of the people surveyed, admitted that they feel more optimistic about having a robot as a co-worker.

Robot boss
Credit: iStock

According a statement by Dan Schawbel, Research Director at Future Workplace:

"Over the past two years, we’ve found that workers have become more optimistic as they’ve adopted more AI in the workplace."

"This study shows that AI is redefining not only the relationship between worker and manager, but also the role of a manager in an AI-driven workplace. Based on the findings, managers will remain relevant in the future if they focus on being human and using their soft skills, while leaving the technical skills and routine tasks to robots."

According to the survey, respondents believe that computers with AI have the advantages over humans in terms of work scheduling, offering unbiased information, and problem solving. Four out of five of those surveyed thought that robots can handle most things better than a human manager.

The survey findings come as AI technology starts to make a bigger impact in the workplace across the world.

About half of all respondents said that they have at least used some form of AI technology in their everyday work, which is up from 32% since 2018.

The survey's findings are a contrary to popular beliefs, where the common perception suggests that people are fearful of robots in workplaces. Hollywood movies and media for example, have long exaggerate the technology as the cause of doomsday and the possible dystopian future.

But as a matter of fact, the survey found that a quarter of respondents said their relationship with AI at work was “loving and gratifying”.

While China came second after India, China has a huge impact in the global economy. The country is active in the AI industry, smartphone, cars and a number of other technologies that empower human lives.

China also has the most number of internet users in the world.