Brandy at the top of the stairs

When England's first escalator opened at Harrods in November 1898, shoppers found the "moving staircase" so unnerving that staff waited at the top with brandy and smelling salts to revive them after the ride.

It wasn't even stairs, it was a leather conveyor belt.

The calculator, the camera, the computer. Each one arrived, scared people, and then became so normal nobody noticed it.

Within a generation, nobody needed the brandy. Now nobody even notices escalators.

Harrods didn't try to convince anyone it was safe - it just made sure someone was waiting at the top.

AI is on the leather-belt stage right now, most of the effort is going into the machine but very little is going into the top of the stairs.

We've always been dramatic about new technology, but we always adjust. As humans, we're good at change, we just don't enjoy it.