"If you have ever tried to scan a bio-metric passport, an e-ticket or just a packet of frozen peas", writes AL Kennedy, "you'll know that using technology can turn, within moments, into a bizarre ritual of presenting, rubbing, re-presenting, murmured prayers and computer generated instructions which lead either to complete defeat or the intervention of human assistance that could have been there all along".

She argues that automation must be governed by human needs and strengths.

Personal contact, she believes, is more important than ever.

Producer: Adele Armstrong