[snowwrestler]

Jobs are being lost to automation--does that mean we can theorize that increasing total automation will result in decreasing total employment?

Probably not, because at large scales there is a positive correlation between automation and employment. That is, the nations with the most automation are also the nations that have developed the best employment. The U.S., for example, has much better employment than it did 100 years ago, and better than China today. China would love to have the economy of the U.S., automation and all.

[ddod]

That argument is like saying at the introduction of automobiles that cities with the most cars also have the most horses.

[snowwrestler]

No, because automation has been replacing jobs for 150 years now, and the positive correlation with job creation could not be more clear.