THERE is an old saying: the more things change, the more they stay the same. Such a sentiment seems hard to justify in our age of technological miracles and remorseless innovation. Change is visible everywhere. Except, perhaps, if you are considering human nature. That, for good or ill, remains a constant.

Recently, I was reminded of this by some very old technology indeed. Namely, a reproduction of an Ordnance Survey map of York dated 1889.

What struck me most was not the map itself (though the number of parks and public spaces we have lost since the Victorian era is cause for mourning) but an extract from a city directory printed on the back.

This is essentially a business directory, street by street. And fascinating reading it makes.

The first thing you notice is how many jobs or professions with practitioners in York back then have simply vanished or grown rare in the intervening 112 years.

Where now are the drapers and milliners? The saddlers and hatters (mad or otherwise) and the hosiers? You could refer to the “veterinary shoeing forge” for horses we no longer see trotting through our streets. Or the large number of tobacconists, an endangered kind of shop indeed in our lung cancer aware age, replaced by e-cigarette emporia.

But, of course, there is much continuity: butchers, greengrocers, wine merchants, bootmakers. The difference is how many of those services are offered by big multinational supermarket or other retail chains rather than independent craftspeople.

The map proves one thing we all know. That change is inevitable, so get used to it.

There is no doubt humanity stands on the brink of almost unimaginable change that has been called the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The First used water and steam power to mechanise production while the Second used electric power to create mass production. Now a Fourth Industrial Revolution is building on the Third, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century.

Of course, York has been profoundly influenced by each of the industrial revolutions mentioned above. It is natural that we shall be in the future.

Nevertheless, the word “revolution” should act as a warning that the process will not necessarily be painless. Few revolutions are. If nothing else, change causes high levels of stress, alienation and displacement.

One example could be nearer than we think. Even as I type out this article on my extremely Third Industrial Revolution PC (so old-fashioned!), far-reaching changes are hatching in the road haulage industry. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Daimler, Tesla, Uber, Ford and Toyota are all investing billions of dollars in driverless vehicles and all commentators agree that driverless trucks will be here before driverless cars. Why? Because that’s where the early money will be made.

The logic is simple. The only humans left in a modern supply chain are truck, van and lorry drivers. Today’s cutting-edge warehouses are increasingly staffed with automated forklifts and robots that load and unload lorries while drivers stand around waiting – and therefore being paid for not working every minute available. Answer: get rid of the drivers and bring in driverless vehicles.

Who can complain about progress? Is not a combi-boiler and central heating far preferable to coal fires as a way of heating your home?

What worries me is that technological change seems too often driven by the “bottom line” and corporate profit, not the broader human needs from cradle to grave that we should hope innovation is meant to serve.

We live on the verge of an age of wonders. A key gain could be radically increased leisure time as more jobs are handled by intelligent machines. Accountancy, retail and the hospitality sectors are prime areas awaiting the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

If we are to avoid that process becoming a hell of poverty for those displaced from the workplace we need to consider radical solutions.

A Citizen’s Income payable to everyone may be one answer. Above all, we must ensure that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is fuelled by a desire for freedom, happiness, equality and prosperity for all, not just the wealthy.