[xigma]

> The more software developers there are, the easier it becomes to automate the drudgery and toil of life.

By "easier", you must mean "cheaper", but I don't believe that at all. There are now more software developers out there than ever before, yet project costs are the highest they have ever been and failure rates remain high.

Software developers are preoccupied with creating problems for themselves, which they then get to bill clueless clients for. The more programmers there are (especially juniors), the worse it will be.

Also, don't assume people actually want automation everywhere. Automation means killing jobs. Managers don't want to fire, they want to hire - it boosts their ego. Employees don't want to get fired, when in doubt, they'll come out against more automation in their day-to-day tasks.

If the economy really needed way more programmers, their wages would go through the roof (across the country, not just in overpriced Silicon Valley) and even otherwise disinclined groups of people would go for it. As it is, the wages are commensurate with the effort required to learn the profession.