text: Automation is absolutely not a bad thing, and is necessary for future increases in productivity and prosperity. But there are social problems with the transition, as workers are displaced and in some cases cities become hollowed out. This needs to be taken seriously.
  
  Economic theory says that removing the need for low-productivity jobs frees up resources to move to higher-productivity jobs, and to some extent it works -- e.g. consider that it is far cheaper and easier to hire landscaping and cleaning services in third world countries than in first world countries. But there are pretty significant questions as to how well this will work going forward, whether our education system is equipped to improve our workforce that much, how long it takes for demand to ramp up for the higher productivity work, etc.