https://tech.newstatesman.com/policy/uk-fourth-industrial-revolution

The UK led the way in the First Industrial Revolution, embracing new technologies and the opportunities they created. But as we embark on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the transition to automation, the reality is we are lagging behind our international competitors in adoption of robot technology.

We cannot pretend that the move to automation doesn’t bring challenges for businesses and for workers. Given the way in which communities were failed during previous industrial changes, such as the decline of the UK’s coal and steel industries, it isn’t surprising that that some may be worried about job disruption and livelihoods. But the real danger for workers, for the UK economy and for future jobs growth is not that we have too many robots in the workplace but that we have too few. In 2015 the UK had just 10 robots for every million hours worked, compared with 167 in Japan. By 2017, we represented just 0.6 per cent of industrial robotics shipments.