Last week the eminent scientist Sir Stephen Hawkings reiterated his view that there is a real danger that, one day, artificial intelligence, namely computers, will completely control human beings. This has often been a fertile ground for science fiction novelists and film makers alike but the fact that somebody as well respected as Hawkings takes this view is something of a wake up call.

Of course, if we look around us, evidence of computer domination is there for all to see. The vast majority of people in the so-called civilised world use computers on a daily basis whether it be online shopping, surfing the internet, corresponding with friends, real or virtual, on social media or just playing with their smartphones as they walk down the street.

One of the biggest downsides of the universal use of computers however is their use in and their effect on the workplace. Over the last twenty years or so there has been a revolution in the way we work as significant and profound as anything that occurred during the industrial revolution over 200 years ago. Put simply, we are now undoubtedly dependent upon computers, whether we like it or not.

As computers and machines become more and more sophisticated they are able to substitute for human beings by performing tasks quicker, more efficiently and, most importantly as far as business is concerned, cheaper than human beings are able to do. The result is increased unemployment and large sections of society unable to provide for themselves with all that that entails, both economically and psychologically. That is surely the most pressing concern.