People don’t want their jobs to be automated
Forty percent of respondents believe their own job is likely to be automated within ten years, but only 21% think it should be (Chart 36). Opinion on whether automation is coming is genuinely split, with 40% saying likely, 39% unlikely and 20% unsure. But on whether it should happen, there is no such ambiguity: 65% say no. People are uncertain about AI's trajectory but are confident that they would prefer for it not to take their job.
Two thirds also say their job makes a meaningful contribution to the world, which may help explain the reluctance. People are not simply protecting their income. Many believe the work itself matters, and that automating it away would be a loss regardless of whether it is technically feasible.
Most jobs feel meaningful, few should be automated
How people view their jobs, automation likelihood, and whether it should happen (n=1,042)
Is your job making a meaningful contribution to the world?
67%
13%
20%
Do you think your job is likely to be automated in 10 years?
40%
39%
20%
Do you think your job should be automated in 10 years?
21%
65%
14%
Yes
No
Don't Know
Even among people who see automation coming, fewer than half (45%) endorse it. 43% say it shouldn't, even though they believe it will. Among those who think automation is unlikely, resistance is near-universal at 91%.
Do people who expect automation also want it?
"Do you think your job should be automated?" — grouped by expectation of automation
Expect their job will be automated
420
45%
43%
12%
Don't expect their job to be automated
411
5%
91%
4%
Unsure if their job will be automated
211
7%
58%
36%
Yes, it should be automated
No, it should not
Don't Know
This resistance to automation is not irrational. When asked to pick their top three priorities for the future, 35% of respondents select “meaningful work”, placing it third behind only healthcare (43%) and food and water (38%; Chart 8), and above safety. Work therefore ranks alongside basic survival needs rather as a luxury.
Yet current satisfaction with meaningful work scores just 2.78 out of 5, among the lowest of any domain and below the scale midpoint (a value of 3 represents “adequately met”). People place enormous value on meaningful work while reporting that they don't have enough of it.
Combined with the two thirds who say their current job contributes meaningfully to the world (Chart 36) and the 52% who prefer a future of guaranteed good jobs over guaranteed income (Chart 20), the picture is consistent: people want work that matters. Many feel they already have it, and most of the rest want more of it, not less.They value work as a source of purpose, and they want AI to enhance that rather than replace it.
Are the things that matter most being met?
Priority ranking vs. current satisfaction — overall (n=1,037)
Healthcare
43%
3.3
Food & water
38%
3.3
Meaningful work
35%
2.8
Safety
33%
3.0
Housing & infrastructure
33%
3.2
Environment
30%
3.0
Governance
24%
2.6
Education
22%
3.4
Community
6%
2.9
Social support
5%
2.9
0
10
20
30
40
50
% selecting as priority (B5)
Current satisfaction (B3)
Priority gap: Meaningful work is both highly prioritized AND poorly provided.
When asked how AI will affect specific areas of life over the next decade (Chart 33), one domain is a clear outlier. 60% of respondents expect AI to reduce the availability of good jobs, making it the only area where negative expectations clearly dominate. The outlook is more favourable across other domains. 69% percent expect AI to improve their free time, and slim majorities see benefits for cost of living (51%) and community well-being (53%). The question of whether AI will affect people's sense of purpose is less settled, with the largest group (39%) expecting no major change and opinion leaning slightly positive among the rest (37% better vs 24% worse).
The contrast with free time is worth noting. People are confident AI will give them more time, but less sure it will give them something meaningful to do with it. That tension between freed-up time and uncertain purpose may be one of the more important social questions AI raises.
Expected impact of AI on life domains in the next 10 years
"Do you think the increased use of AI across society is likely to make this better, worse or stay the same?" (n=1,042)
Cost of living
7%
44%
23%
21%
6%
Free time
15%
54%
20%
8%
3%
Community well-being
9%
44%
26%
17%
4%
Availability of good jobs
5%
20%
14%
40%
20%
Sense of purpose
7%
30%
39%
18%
6%
Profoundly better
Noticeably better
No major change
Noticeably worse
Profoundly worse
When rating the risks and benefits of specific technologies (Chart 28), respondents draw a clear line based on human control. Messaging apps (56% net positive) and AI chatbots (51% net positive) are seen favourably, technologies where people remain in charge of the interaction. Social media sits in the middle, split almost evenly between positive and negative assessments. But AI performing tasks without supervision (50% say risks outweigh benefits) and AI outperforming humans on most valuable work (49%) are the only two technologies where a plurality sees net harm. The pattern is consistent with everything else in the survey: people welcome AI that assists them and resist AI that replaces them.
Percieved impact of technology on society
"Considering both potential benefits and risks, how do you assess the overall impact on society?" (n=1,045)
Messaging apps
24%
32%
28%
12%
4%
Social media apps
10%
24%
29%
24%
13%
AI chatbots
18%
33%
27%
15%
7%
AI performing tasks without supervision
8%
18%
24%
28%
22%
AI outperforming humans on most valuable work
10%
19%
22%
23%
25%
Benefits far outweigh risks
Benefits slightly outweigh risks
Equal
Risks slightly outweigh benefits
Risks far outweigh benefits