The future of manufacturing: Utopia or dystopia?

Digital Manufacturing Technologies (DMTs) have the potential to transform industry productivity, but their introduction into the workplace is often a complex process, requiring not only technical expertise but also an awareness of ethical and societal challenges surrounding human-system integration. Concerns about the introduction of new technology have been prevalent throughout history, and exploring public perceptions of these technologies can provide insight to help address such cultural anxieties. However, evaluating user perceptions of futuristic technology is difficult, requiring novel approaches to provide context and understanding. In order to explore users’ perceptions of future DMTs, we applied the ContraVision technique in a questionnaire-based study. Participants viewed films, representing fictionalised Utopic and Dystopic visions of what the future of these DMTs might involve, and a questionnaire probed the perceptions of the technologies afterwards. Findings showed that irrespective of the way technology was portrayed, participants had concerns about the ethical and responsible implementation of these tools. Participant responses were analysed to identify key challenges for policy surrounding DMT implementation in the future of manufacturing.