[Art9681]

The thing is that someone has to clean the toilets, sweep the floors, maintain that public transportation, or have the skills to fix up your car, etc. Dignity means a lot of things to different people. If you live in a society that enables you to work with dignity, it's because there is a lot of undignified labor sustaining it. The things we wish for don't just magically happen. It takes a lot of undignified human labor to get there. Now let's say you automated all undignified labor. Now your competition increased a hundred fold, greatly lowering your odds if finding dignified labor.

And the world churns.

[harimau777]

I don't see that a contradictory. A job cleaning toilets or repairing cars can be dignified if you get paid a living wage, have reasonable working conditions, and aren't mistreated by your company.

[aydyn]

Ask recent grads what they would think about a janitor position for $55,000 a year (average U.S. living wage). My guess is the percent who would be happy with that? < 1%.

[BriggyDwiggs42]

This is so defeatist. You may need these roles filled, but you can pay much better for them and give them more respect socially. If you automate them, you can implement massive redistributionary schemes to ensure that benefits people. It’s a lack of political will, not possibility.

[porridgeraisin]

It's not much to do with the money. It is just work most people will be unwilling to do.

The number of college graduates who will willingly work in housekeeping or dusty construction sites even for 100K USD a year will be next to zero.

People will not downgrade their quality of life compared to what they grew up with. And you're lying to yourself if you think a construction site is as comfy as the Meta HQ.

[aydyn]

> but you can pay much better

Yes

> for them and give them more respect socially

How? You can't dictate social behavior.