Andy Haldane, chief economist of the Bank of England, warned this week that artificial intelligence could create widespread unemployment. Disruption may be worse than during the first steam-powered industrial revolution, he told the BBC.

So much for dystopia. The utopian response to automation is that it should allow everyone to work less, giving us more time for fun. In 1930, for example, another economist, John Maynard Keynes prophesied that a century later Britons might work a mere 15 hours a week.

Time for a progress report. Lex totted up some numbers for full-time male workers, because historic figures are more robust than for women. The average working week for a man has dropped by just nine hours to 38 hours. Rapid progress would be needed to meet Keynes’ 2030 target