Beware the unintended consequences of a robot revolution

Investment in education and retraining is needed to equip people to adapt as automation shakes up their workplaces

Ask an economist or a technology expert and they will happily tell you that decades of data reliably show automation has created more jobs than it has destroyed.

Far fewer of us now work on farms, for example, thanks to super-efficient machines that do the bulk of the work. Such technology has boosted productivity and, with it, living standards. As a result, more people work in leisure industries such as hospitality or hairdressing, serving all those people with higher disposable incomes and more free time.

Related: The Guardian view on the automated future: fewer shops and fewer people | Editorial

Related: The robots are coming. Will they bring wealth or a divided society?