Countries with greater income inequality have more negative opinions about robots - UCF studyIn a new study by researchers with the University of Central Florida, workers in countries with greater amounts of income and social inequality were found to be more likely to perceive robots and artificial intelligence as job threats.This means in countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands, robots could be met with more open arms than in countries such as Spain or Greece, where there is more income inequality.The study, which examined countries in Europe, was published recently in the journal Technology, Mind and Behavior.The study focused on European countries, but study co-author Mindy Shoss, a professor in UCF’s Department of Psychology, says the findings could also help better understand the issue in America.“The U.S. always ranks pretty high on inequality and societal inequality,” the researcher says. “Given that, I would suspect that there probably are, on average, similar negative views of AI and robot technology in the U.S.”Shoss says that in highly unequal societies there are greater inequalities in income, health and education, as well as more attention given to where people stand on the social ladder. This leads to anxiety and uncertainty about income, status, and job security.“Countries that have more people in unequal standing, on average, tend to see these technologies more as a threat,” she says.