The future of manufacturing: Utopia or dystopia?

Digital manufacturing technologies (DMTs) have the potential to transform industry productivity, but their introduction into workplace is often a complex process, requiring not only technical expertise also an awareness of ethical and societal challenges surrounding human–system integration. Concerns about new technology been prevalent throughout history, exploring public perceptions these can provide insight help address such cultural anxieties. However, evaluating user futuristic difficult, novel approaches context understanding. To explore users' future DMTs, we applied ContraVision technique in questionnaire-based study. Participants viewed films, representing fictionalized utopic dystopic visions what DMTs might involve, questionnaire probed afterward. Findings showed that irrespective way was portrayed, participants had concerns responsible implementation tools. Participant responses were analyzed identify key for policy DMT manufacturing.