The Role of Information on Tradeoffs of Offshoring and AI on Policy Preferences

• In Event: AI, Automation, and Political Attitudes

Abstract

Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) and offshoring can engender both negative impacts, such as job displacement, and positive outcomes, including increased productivity and lower prices. However, the public's perception and political consequences of these impacts remain uncertain.

While economists emphasize that increased automation has been a significant driver of job loss, the political discourse is more inclined to attribute job displacement to trade. As a result, trade has garnered greater attention in political discussions on job loss, while automation and AI remain less politicized.

How do citizens evaluate the trade-offs associated with these economic shocks? Are they equally concerned about economic changes arising from offshoring as opposed to AI? No study has ever considered employment and price effects simultaneously for both offshoring and AI on attitudes towards these shocks. This paper investigates the political consequences of generative AI and offshoring by conducting a conjoint experiment in the US and Canada to manipulate information about generative AI and offshoring. We examine the effect of varying information of the costs and benefits of AI and offshoring on support for various policy responses. By analyzing the public's reactions to different economic shocks and their perception of trade versus AI, we contribute to a deeper understanding of how economic changes shape political attitudes and policy preferences.

Authors

• Beatrice Magistro, California Institute of Technology

• Sophie Borwein, University of British Columbia

• R. Michael Alvarez, California Institute of Technology

• Bart Bonikowski, New York University

• Peter Loewen, University of Toronto