Abstract:
Robot technologies could lead to radical changes in farming. But what does the public know and think about agricultural robots? Recent experience with other agricultural technologies-such as plant genetic engineering-shows that public perceptions can influence the pace and direction of innovation, so understanding perceptions and how they are formed is important. Here, we use representative data from an online survey (n = 2269) to analyze public attitudes towards crop farming robots in Germany-a country where new farming technologies are sometimes seen with skepticism. While less than half of the survey participants are aware of the use of robots in agriculture, general attitudes are mostly positive and the level of interest is high. A framing experiment suggests that the type of information provided influences attitudes. Information about possible environmental benefits increases positive perceptions more than information about possible food security and labor market effects. These insights can help design communication strategies to promote technology acceptance and sustainable innovation in agriculture.
摘要:
机器人技术可能会导致农业发生根本性的变化。但是公众对农业机器人的了解和看法是什么?最近对其他农业技术的经验,例如植物基因工程,表明公众的看法可以影响创新的速度和方向,所以理解感知和它们是如何形成的是很重要的。这里,我们使用来自在线调查(n=2269)的代表性数据来分析公众对德国作物种植机器人的态度-这个国家有时会怀疑新的农业技术。虽然不到一半的调查参与者知道机器人在农业中的使用,一般态度大多是积极的,兴趣水平很高。框架实验表明,所提供的信息类型会影响态度。有关可能的环境效益的信息比有关可能的粮食安全和劳动力市场影响的信息更能增加积极的看法。这些见解可以帮助设计沟通策略,以促进农业中的技术接受和可持续创新。