The whole history of human civilization is one kind of labor replacing another, with no shortage of people wondering about how the new being a destructive force doesn’t make it a social evil.
The people who would have worked at this kind of shop will find other jobs created or otherwise enabled by the lowered costs of automation.
The whole of the industrial and now computer revolution has been the degradation of human existence in the name of profit and progress. Elimination of employment that is a requirement for sustenance and a non-miserable life is common.
Automation doesn’t create jobs, it shifts them, generally towards less well paid options. Sure there are a few engineers who make more money, but what about the non skilled laborers?
> Sure there are a few engineers who make more money, but what about the non skilled laborers
That’s a political problem. Obvious solution is to transfer wealth from those who have it to those that don’t. Make higher education free, pay people to learn, or to do research, universal basic income, etc.
Agreed these are policy problems, but as creators of technology we're responsible for the outcomes as well. Ignoring the problems in the name of progress, as others replying to my thread seem want to do, is unethical and immoral.
I’m on board with your suggestion. Let’s implement it. Alongside the progress in automation, not as an afterthought.
The people who would have worked at this kind of shop will find other jobs created or otherwise enabled by the lowered costs of automation.