Picking on "philosophically meaningless" a bit... I'm a hobby musician. There are better musicians. I don't stop. I like to cook. There are better cooks.

Picking on "philosophically meaningless" a bit... I'm a hobby musician. There are better musicians. I don't stop. I like to cook. There are better cooks. I don't stop. If you are Einstein or Michael Jordan or some other best-of-the-best, enjoyment of life and the finding of worth/meaning can be tied to absolute mastery. For the rest of us, tending to our own gardens is a much better path. Finding "meaning" at work is a tall order and it always has been. As for "economically worthless," yes if you want to get PAID for writing code, that's a different story, and I worry about how that will play out in the scope of individual lifetimes. Long term I think we'll figure it out.