A new international study by Hexagon, the measurement and digital reality technology company, has found that Britain records the largest generational gap in enthusiasm for robots of any country surveyed, with 80% of children excited compared with 47% of adults — a 33-percentage-point divide that dwarfs comparable figures in China, India and Brazil.
The research, drawn from nine countries, tracked 85% of children globally having used AI in the past three months, and 58% having had real-world contact with a robot. In Britain, by contrast, adults are far more likely to have encountered robots through film and television than in person: 77% through fiction, 30% through direct experience.
That pattern of mediated versus direct exposure correlates with attitudes. British adults register among the highest levels of concern about robots globally (52%), compared with 44% in China and 29% in South Korea.
On the specific question of working alongside robot colleagues, children internationally are almost 50% more likely than adults to say they are excited (59% vs 40%). In Britain the gap widens further: 58% of children versus 28% of adults.
Burkhard Boeckem, CTO of Hexagon, said: "Our research shows that preparing for this future means looking beyond technical skills alone. We need to give people practical experience with robotics while building the critical thinking, creativity, and confidence so that people of all ages can use these technologies responsibly. That's how we ensure every generation can adopt robotics safely, productively, and at scale."
Ferdinand Doepel, Deputy Head Academic and Innovation at Wimbledon High School, said: "The most surprising finding isn't that children are excited about robots, but that they're already imagining how they'll work alongside them. But just because young people have grown up with technology, including AI, and they know how to use it at a surface level, doesn't mean they instinctively understand its implications."
Hexagon's study spans nine countries and includes qualitative data from students and teachers at Wimbledon High School. The company positions the findings as evidence that education systems need to move beyond surface-level AI literacy to encompass critical thinking about data, autonomy and human-machine collaboration.
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