That was the message of Abta Travel Convention 2016 guest speaker, Dr Tom Chatfield, visiting associate at the Oxford Internet Institute.

“Great opportunity lies in helping people make better and richer use of things that are most scarce,” said Chatfield.

“The people in this room are time experts.

“I love the idea of helping people take back control. You’ve got to make the most of your expert knowledge and experience.”

Chatfield said he thinks the question of what humans can do “better” than machines is “unhelpful”, even if the list “is getting shorter”.

“Fearing it somehow downgrades us automatically and suggests we are cowering in the face of automation,” continued Chatfield.

“We need to ask where our greatest value lies and how we can be better together.”

He gave the example of sales “consultation pods” in Singapore, whereby the expert and the customer both utilise a computer together.

“I love the idea of a participatory environment for businesses,” said Chatfield.

“The prospect of simply turning yourself into a repeater of computer content is a dangerous one.”

Travelzoo president Europe, Richard Singer, said the business asked members of the trade whether they thought robots could replace them.

“10% said yes, but the majority said no and I think that could be right,” he said.

“But as a final thought, to say that robots won’t become a large feature within travel, you only have to consider the cars that we drive and houses that are being built.

“I would say if we trust that, we’re probably going to see a much greater presence in the future for robotics.”  

Singer said Forrester research in the US found 11% of jobs will go as a result of robotics, but 5% more jobs will be created.