As the former The Gadget Show presenter Jason Bradbury explained, artificial intelligence (AI) is developing at such a rate that “narrow AI” (as used by virtual assistants who respond to limited commands) could be superseded by “general AI” (which enables robots to have a more natural conversation) as early as 2023.

A computer? Which can ask holidaymakers about their requirements and book an appropriate trip for them by 2023? As if Brexit, PTD and terrorism weren’t enough for us to worry about in the next six years!

It’s easy to look at technology as an agent and see threats: whether it’s a cruise line collecting even more information about your customers, cyber-criminals hacking into your systems or robots taking over.

But another point which stood out for me at the “Man and Machine”-themed conference was the prediction of a digital expert, who said that whatever advances are made in artificial intelligence in the future, voice assistants would only ever be able to answer and handle around 80% of travel enquiries.

The remaining 20% would always be too complex and bespoke for a robot to interpret and respond to effectively.

If you’re a travel agent who specialises in cheap deals for customers who don’t care where they go, AI is then a very real threat. But if you focus on tailor-made bookings with any level of complexity, the good news is that a robot may never be able to match what you do.

As for Jason’s Pepper robot, pictured on the front of this week’s magazine, she was great fun, but I suspect it will be some time before she gives even a bucket-and-spade retailer a run for their money. Just wheel her out of range of the Wi-Fi!