DAVOS – Edelman – 01/15/2024 US leads public distrust of innovation

Corporations and governments do a poor job of managing and regulating new technologies. That's according to a survey conducted ahead of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting this week.

In an Edelman survey published at the start of the WEF meeting under the theme “Restoring Trust”, 39% of respondents were asked if they supported companies and non-governmental organizations in introducing innovations and said governments in regulating trust. It is poorly handled. Only 22% said it was well regulated.

However, NGOs were a more reliable form of business to integrate innovation into society than government and the media.

Among the countries surveyed by the PR firm, the greatest pessimism about innovation management was in the US, where 56% of respondents said innovation was poorly managed and 14% said it was well managed. The survey was conducted in November among 32,000 people in 28 countries.

The report cites Beijing's removal of Covid vaccine requirements in July 2022 after online protests, US Republicans' opposition to electric vehicles, and Hollywood writers' fight against the use of artificial intelligence in writing as examples of opposition to the technology of scripts.

According to the study, resistance to innovation is determined politically. Opposition is high among right-wing political populations, particularly in the United States, Australia, Germany and Canada.

The survey found that corporations are more likely to innovate in society than NGOs, governments and the media.

“Innovation should accelerate and be the engine of growth, but it will slow if the economy doesn't focus as much on research and development as it does on adoption,” Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, said in a statement.

The report also found that the UK is at the bottom of Edelman's Trust Barometer, which measures the average percentage of trust in NGOs, businesses, government and the media, with a score of 39%. (Reporting by Megan Davis; Editing by Alexander Smith)