Industry 4.0: A Chance or a Threat for Gen Z? The Perspective of Economics Students

Abstract

Major transformations in the sphere of the economy that Industry 4.0 brings are also reflected in young people’s expectations regarding the development of their professional career. Existing social relations are being modified nowadays and new concepts of building them are being developed. The aim of the present article is to present the expectations, fears and hopes of young people related to the course of Industrial Revolution 4.0 in the context of their future life. For a simpler perception of the research objectives of students, the research was narrowed down to the topic of building relationships with robots, which are one of the pillars of Industry 4.0. The research methods are based on the literature studies and an experiment conducted among the students graduating from economic faculties and entering a strongly changing labour market. The experiment was qualitative. The students wrote a short essay on the topic of whether a friendship between a human and a robot is possible. One group of students was shown a short emotional clip about the relationship between the boy and the robot. Regardless of the attempt to influence the message with a film, both groups of students hardly noticed the negative effects of digitisation on building relationships and social trust. The relationship between human being and advanced technology will develop in the future, which will result in the emergence of new relationships between humans and artificial intelligence.