Measuring Task-Based Advanced Automation Technologies & Digital Assistance Systems in the National Educational Panel Study

We introduce a new task-based instrument for the measurement of automation at the workplace. We refer to the automation technologies as “digital assistance systems”, which we define as advanced automation systems such as software and devices that automatically complete tasks to support workers. They include artificial intelligence chatbots, image and video creation algorithms, predictive maintenance and analysis tools, digital instructions systems as well as wearable technologies and collaborative robots. Drawing on the task-based approach and recognizing recent technological advancements, we developed seven items capturing various types of digital assistance systems for the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). Results from NEPS Starting Cohorts 4 and 6 show that usage varies by age, education level and correlates with complementary job tasks as well as measures of workplace digitalization. The instrument complements existing NEPS items on workplace digitalization and offers potential for longitudinal analysis of technological change in the workplace and its impact on skill requirements, inequality, and life-long learning.