This is moving the wrong direction. We want to use automation to reduce the number of jobs, not to create makework for it's own sake. This is the key statement:

This is moving the wrong direction. We want to use automation to reduce the number of jobs, not to create makework for it's own sake. This is the key statement: There are a lot of areas where it makes sense to divide labor between humans and computers—we are very good at some things computers are terrible at and vice versa—and some of these require huge amounts of human resources. As entrepreneurs it's our task to make computers better at the things that they aren't good at. It will require groundbreaking technology, a lot of work and incredible amounts of risk...but if not us, then who? We're blessed with the ability to make tools that make lives easier, we should be doing everything we can do make machines do more work so that humans can do less. If Adam Smith was right and land, labor, capital is the relevant equation, then automation is a way to create nearly unlimited amounts of labor. Human brains are probably the most powerful computers to ever exist, it's unlikely that busy work is the best way to utilize them. A focus on creating jobs just exacerbates the social problems of capitalism. When people mention basic income, they usually also mention automation as a way to mitigate the loss in the labor force. If we push for more jobs instead of automating away jobs, we're just delaying the best outcome. The most important question of the 21st century is "What can be automated?". Reducing the number of jobs is our great calling. Paradoxically, we'll have to employ at lot of smart people to make progress toward that goal. I think that's the real challenge, and it's one that we can rise to.