I would argue that _this_ time may not be different, but there will come a time when it _will_ be different. The luddites, if taking the extremely long view, wi

I would argue that _this_ time may not be different, but there will come a time when it _will_ be different. The luddites, if taking the extremely long view, will eventually be proven correct. The _maximum capabilities_ of machines are ever improving, while the maximum capabilities of humans remain roughly stagnant [1]. Originally, we had humans distributed across the entire labor market, while machines had a maximum capacity of essentially 0 and performed no labor. When the capacity of machines grew, it displaced the original luddites. While the transition was painful for those displaced at the time, ultimately humans were generally able to move "up" in the labor market. Today the maximum capacity of machines is increasing again. But, again, while painful for people being displaced there's still room for humans to move "up" in the labor market. Hopefully, again, discovering a new wealth of labor tasks that can be performed at these levels. But a day will come when that's no longer sufficient. At some point the capacity for machines will equal that of humans. I don't think it's "now", but I do think it's going to happen in the next couple hundred or so years. [1] There is definitely growth of the maximum ability of humans over time, but it is a much slower growth than that of machines.