Faced with the dreaded task of actually having to go into my local HSBC to deposit some money, I thought I’d leave it until the lunchtime rush was over to avoid the queues. Imagine my surprise when I stepped into the newly renovated branch to find a wall full of machines with confused-looking customers milling about. Gone were the unsmiling faces behind glass screens – welcome to a row of beeping machines, ready to inhale my money and spit out a receipt.

It got me thinking about how my job as a project manager could be automated by machines and software.

Requests from clients could be automatically routed to developers based on subject, progress updated and reports generated, webcams on developers to monitor progress - cue Toby sitting in the server room stroking a fluffy white cat, surrounded by screens.

My experience at the bank was quick and efficient, but it adds to the growing list of tasks we perform each day without any human interaction and I wonder how far this will go.

While we are always looking to increase productivity and efficiency, I think my job will be safe for a while… until a computer can process and analyse instructions such as ‘I want something, I’m not sure what, but make it look great and be fabulous’

And … who else would get the beers from downstairs on a Friday

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