The future of work is more uncertain than at any point in a century, writes Julia Hobsbawm, highlighting that, according to the World Economic Forum, about a quarter of jobs will change by 2028. But what do we know about this ever-changing landscape? While fears of job loss are common, history shows that new technologies lead to job evolution rather than extinction. AI and technology means flexible, stackable skills will replace rigid job roles, requiring us to embrace adaptability.

Let’s begin with the richest man in the world, a man who employs over a hundred thousand people worldwide, and the human currently most associated with technology anywhere on the planet: Elon Musk. Is his working assumption, delivered in his famously direct way so beloved of journalists, correct – that the end of the job is nigh? Well, to quote from Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop, that 1938 magisterial parody of media barons, “up to a point, Lord Copper”.

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