Britain has officially been named the world's most anxious nation when it comes to robots, according to new research from Hexagon. The data reveals the issue is not the technology itself, but how little people see it in action, raising questions about whether limited exposure could slow adoption as robotics scales.
While headlines focus on robots replacing jobs, the findings tell a different story. Security, control and misuse are the dominant public concerns, with respondents ranking hacking and loss of oversight well ahead of workforce displacement.
Key findings from the global study include: 52% of British adults feel uneasy about robots; only 30% have encountered one in real life; 39% are uncomfortable with robots in the home; 51% globally cite hacking as a top concern versus 41% who fear job replacement; and 41% globally fear robots could malfunction or cause harm.
Trust increases when robots are deployed in tightly controlled industrial settings like factories and warehouses, indicating that visible safeguards and human oversight may be just as important as the technology itself.
The opportunity is to build trust the right way, by deploying robots where they make work safer and less physically punishing, such as heavy lifting, hazardous inspections, and continuous monitoring.
Globally, 63% of adults are comfortable interacting with robots in factories and warehouses, compared with 46% in the home. However, UK comfort levels are lower, with 53% comfortable in industrial settings, 10 points below the global average.
When it comes to workplace impact, half of adults say the biggest benefits delivered by robots are productivity and speed (51%) and keeping people safer by doing risky jobs (50%). While concerns that robots will replace humans in the workplace are high (41%), the number one worry for adults worldwide was that robots could be hacked (51%) or cause direct harm or malfunction (41%).
When people actually meet a robot, especially a small, friendly one, the fear often disappears. Exposure changes the conversation very quickly.
The Hexagon Robot Generation study surveyed 9,000 adults and 9,000 children aged 8 to 18 across the USA, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, China, Brazil and India. The survey was carried out by Vitreous World on behalf of Hexagon between October and November 2025.
