I eventually wake up at 7am. My smartphone app has been 'gently waking me up' for the past 10 minutes. I instantly smell the coffee that has just brewed itself as requested when I set the timer last night. As I leave my house I hear a rummaging sound from behind my neighbour's fence. I realise it is his robotic lawnmower quietly finishing off another night shift...his lawn looks perfect. I wonder how long it will be until a robot can trim my hedge...

Driving to work, Spotify (on my phone) randomly selects and plays all my favourite music through the car stereo. I have not listened to the radio for months. I fill up my car at the fully automated petrol station then drive through the automated car-wash. I then go to the supermarket to buy some milk, withdrawing some cash from the hole in the wall outside…I have not set foot inside a bank for years. From the ten check-outs available at the supermarket, only one cashier is actually working. Nearly every customer uses the self-checkout to save time.

I am first to arrive at my office building but there is no longer any overnight security guard to say hello to. The alarm system is far too high tech to worry about a break-in. At my desk, my computer shows me that 129 emails were received overnight, however, only 36 make it into my inbox, the rest have been dumped into 'junk' by my assistant, sorry I mean computer, to save me more time. The first email I open is confirmation of the holiday that I booked online yesterday. I last went to a travel agent in the 1990s. I pause and laugh, remembering the film that I streamed from my iPad through my Apple TV last night. I have not rented a DVD for years… no wonder Blockbusters went bust. It then occurs to me that I have only seen one person working all morning…where have all the employees gone?