> The long term macro trend is clear. Not to me. If I had to make an attempt to predict the future I'd say there might be two trends. And they are opposite e

> The long term macro trend is clear. Not to me. If I had to make an attempt to predict the future I'd say there might be two trends. And they are opposite extremes: First, the good jobs require more and more knowledge. Second, automation, as you suggested, might result in jobs where very little knowledge is necessary. "Push this button. If that light turns red, push that button". Then again, even in what could be seen as "push-button jobs" a great deal of knowledge and experience is required. One extreme example might be industrial CNC machines. You can, quite literally, push a button and watch it go. However, doing this without knowledge and experience would result in disaster. I don't have a bleak view of the future. I recognize we are really, really bad at predicting it. Worrying about this is probably a waste of time. In a place like the US even the poor live significantly better than they the "middle class" lived 500 to 100 years ago. We must be doing something right.