[xg15]

I'd like to know, from people who really believe that we just need to invent the right technology, then we could all do 20 hour weeks and spend the rest of the time in leisure, what keeps them from doing that right now, and what exactly they believe that miracle tech would change.

It seems relatively obvious to me that if a society has work as its cultural core then no amount of productivity increase will get rid of work - it would destabilize the entire society before it could do so.

[fainpul]

Some people seem to be under the impression that they (the employees) and their employers are a team, working towards the same goal (a better life with more spare time for everyone).

I just wrote this comment in another thread, but it fits here too:

The development, production and use of machines to replace labour is driven by employers to produce more efficiently, to gain an edge and make more money.

You, as an employee, are just means to an end. "The company" doesn't care about you and you will not reap the benefits of whatever efficiency improvements the future brings.

[xg15]

Yep. But new technologies like this are often flanked by press coverage that frames them as beneficial for employees because then they'd have to work less... I'm not sure if those articles are genuinely naive or simply propaganda.