Technological risk and policy preferences

Workers being generally optimistic about the introduction of technology into their work environments, the results of this study undermine the common assumption that objective risks of automation are key predictors of political concerns and preferences. More specifically, objective risks do not correlate with demands for policy to slow or stop change, or those in favour of redistribution. The authors speculate that perhaps a lack of public political connections made between automation and the need for redistributive policy is part of the reason for the low demand. Interestingly they also suggest that routine workers are less willing to adapt to change generally, and therefore are more likely to advocate for preventative policies, rather than redistributive compensation and other similar measures.