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Whispering Progress: Fear of Automation and Voluntary Disclosure
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AI
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DOI：10.1016/j.jacceco.2026.101904.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
We examine how employee fears of automation-driven job displacement influence corporate disclosure of automation plans. Using a novel measure of local automation fear constructed from cable news transcripts, we document a robust negative relation between automation fear and firms’ propensity to provide forward-looking disclosure about automation strategies. This effect strengthens when disclosure conveys incremental information, when automation substitutes for labor, and when firms face greater union exposure or political costs. To strengthen identification, we exploit quasi-natural experiments that induce increases in automation fear, expected union resistance, and political costs, respectively. We also find suggestive evidence that firms increase private communication with investors to compensate for the reduction in public information provision. Overall, our findings shed light on the trade-offs between maintaining transparency and mitigating adverse employee and politician responses in the era of rapid technological advancement.
Keywords:
Automation fear
Corporate disclosure
Voluntary information sharing
Labor substitution
Political costs
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