[1971genocide]

Its not a simple equilibrium as you make out to be. No one at this point can predict what automation will do to the workforce.

I find it hyperbolic that off all people programmers are most paranoid of automation. Did commodity C compiler make compiler designer obsolete ?

what will happen is productivity is going to shoot up for your average person on a per dollar basis.

A bioinformatician can outproduce 10 farmers , etc.

There is no shortage of things to do on the planet. There are still 3.5 billion people living on 10 dollars a day, have some perspective.

We can take about the robotic dystopian future when we have succefully homed,clothed and fed every person on the planet. Also provide free healthcare for everyone. I can go on but this terrible paranoia about automation needs to stop before you let animalistic emotions stop progression of science and technology.

[kefka]

And why people are so scared about automation even here is:

They know our current way of splitting up wealth and resources is not sustainable. Capitalism itself calls for lowering costs and beating "opposition's prices". This in turn leads to a downward spiral.

Automation is inevitable. And that itself is not a bad thing. What is bad, are the people it displaces, and the resulting lack of money to pay for rent/utilities/necessities/extras. People in the US are still scared by the socialist and communist boogeyman, in that they won't look at those systems and ideas as tools.

So yes. Automation+capitalism = poor.

[s73v3r]

"what will happen is productivity is going to shoot up for your average person on a per dollar basis."

For your average EMPLOYED person. Whether or not most people will be employed is yet to be seen.

"We can take about the robotic dystopian future when we have succefully homed,clothed and fed every person on the planet."

That dystopian future is the reason why we aren't doing that, mainly because those with all the money don't want to bother doing it.