Posing as a time traveller from the year 2035 Alan Finkel is back with a stark warning The robots are coming and they’re after your jobs. In this talk he takes a close look at the dangers presented by technological innovation. If left unchecked, he argues, it will produce a world where computers and robots can outperform humans and cause mass unemployment.

But he’s not bleak about the future - with the right design, planning and regulation automation and artificial intelligence can bring tremendous benefits. He outlines the steps we should be taking now to ensure that we avoid a jobless future.

Highlights of Future shock, again? The Eric Dark memorial lecture presented by Varuna, the National Writers' House and the Sydney Writers Festival. The Carrington Hotel, Katoomba. First broadcast on Big Ideas 27th May 2015