The
Edelman survey, released as the WEF meeting is set to begin
under the theme "Rebuilding Trust", found 39% of respondents
asked if they trusted business and NGOs with introducing
innovations and governments to regulate them, said it was poorly
managed. Just 22% said it was well managed.
Still, business was the most trusted category to integrate
innovation into society, ahead of NGOs, government and media.
The highest level of mistrust about the management of innovation
among the countries surveyed by the public relations firm was in
the United States, with 56% saying that innovation was poorly
managed versus 14% saying it was well managed. The survey
questioned 32,000 people in 28 countries during November.
The report said examples of pushback against technology included
Beijing dropping COVID vaccine mandates in July 2022 after
online pushback, U.S. Republican positions against electric
vehicles and Hollywood writers' battle against the use of
artificial intelligence in writing scripts.
Resistance to innovation is political, the survey said, with
more resistance in politically right-leaning people particularly
in the United States, Australia, Germany and Canada.
The survey found that businesses were the most trusted to
introduce innovations into society, more than non-governmental
organizations, government and media.
"Innovation is accelerating and should be a growth enabler, but
it will be stymied if business doesn't pay as much attention to
acceptance as it does research and development," Edelman'S CEO
Richard Edelman said in a statement,
The report also found Britain was at the bottom of Edelman's
Trust Barometer, which gives an average percent trust in NGOs,
business, government and media, with a score of 39%.
(Reporting by Megan Davies; Editing by Alexander Smith)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|