Country-level differences in socio-economic development and cultural dimensions are associated with workers’ economic expectations of AI: Evidence from 31 countries

Although artificial intelligence (AI) affects many jobs and fundamentally changes labor, surprisingly little is known about workers' economic expectations of AI. Understanding workers' expectations is important, as it can inform the design of effective AI adoption strategies by firms and governments. Such expectations are likely co-shaped by the workers' economic and cultural realities. In the present research, we therefore examined how workers' economic expectations of AI differ between countries and explored the role of socio-economic and cultural dimensions in shaping these differences. Using data from 14,651 workers across 31 countries (M age = 41.4, SD age = 12.5, 46 % female), including a wide range of different economies and cultures, we find that (i) overall workers hold positive economic expectations of AI but (ii) there is substantial cross-country variance, and (iii) this variance is associated with a country's level of human development and cultural tightness–looseness. Specifically, we find that higher levels of human development are negatively associated with workers' expectations of AI, while cultural tightness is positively associated with their expectations of AI. Additionally, we find that workers' demographics, knowledge of AI, and perceived replacement likelihood are associated with their economic expectations. The findings remain robust when different model specifications and control variables are considered. Our research highlights that workers' economic expectations of AI are associated with both socio-economic development and cultural tightness–looseness, underscoring the importance of the country context when studying how workers anticipate technological change. • Workers across 31 countries generally expect AI to have a positive economic impact. • Economic expectations of AI vary substantially across countries. • Higher human development is linked to more negative AI economic expectations. • Cultural tightness is linked to more positive AI economic expectations. • Demographics, knowledge, and replacement likelihood also shape expectations.