Dwain Northey (Gen X)

In the 1960s and 70s, America’s brightest futurists promised that automation would usher in a techno-utopia where machines handled the drudgery and humans floated through 25-hour workweeks, drinking iced tea and debating which hobby to try next—macramé? astronomy? professional lounging? Productivity would soar, wages would rise, and the good life would finally be available to more than a handful of people with vacation homes.

Fast-forward to today and—surprise!—automation did skyrocket productivity… but the leisure-filled utopia? That got rerouted to a private island somewhere in the Caribbean where only CEOs and shareholders are allowed to dock. The rest of America is working longer hours, juggling side gigs, and being told to “upskill” every time a new algorithm shows up to steal their lunch.

So where exactly did the wheels fall off this futuristic gravy train?

1. The social contract collapsed like a wet cardboard box.

For decades, productivity and wages climbed together. Then, sometime around the 70s and 80s, productivity said, “See ya,” and wages stayed behind like a confused kid who missed the bus.

2. Deregulation + mega-mergers = corporations that behave like cartoon villains.

Automation meant efficiency, yes—but efficiency became code for “replace workers, shrink staff, and squeeze everyone else like an orange at a breakfast buffet.” Rather than share gains with employees, companies funneled money to shareholders and executive bonuses that could buy a small moon.

3. Unions got gutted.

Back when unions were strong, automation meant better tools and safer work. Now, with union membership barely scraping the single digits, automation means “Congratulations, your new supervisor is a robot paired with an HR chatbot.”

4. Wealth shot upward faster than a champagne cork.

Tax codes shifted, regulations softened, and suddenly the predicted bounty from automation got hoarded at the top. Workers got “efficiency improvements.” CEOs got yachts with helipads.

5. America developed a moral obsession with overwork.

If technology saved time, bosses immediately filled that time with… more work. “Automation increased your productivity? Great. Here are six more tasks and a software dashboard to track how often you blink.”

🟪 And now here comes AI, rolling in like the sequel nobody asked for.

Will AI finally deliver the utopian future automation once promised? Or are we about to turbocharge the same old pattern: more productivity for companies, less stability for workers, and more wealth funneling upward like a reverse waterfall?

Let’s consider the current trajectory:

If nothing changes, AI will likely make things worse for the average person.

Why?

Because the system that absorbed automation is the same system absorbing AI—but now the stakes are bigger.

AI can replace not just physical labor but cognitive work. It can expand a single worker’s output to unnatural levels, justifying even leaner workforces. Companies are already openly discussing AI as a path to “labor reduction,” not “worker liberation.” And executives are salivating at the idea of eliminating even more labor costs without any obligation to share the gains.

If the 1970s broke the link between productivity and wages, AI might snap the last remaining thread holding workers into the economy with any bargaining power.

But—with different policies—it could actually make life better.

This isn’t destiny; it’s design.

AI could:

Reduce hours while maintaining pay. Make jobs safer and less tedious. Lower costs of essential goods and services. Support universal basic income or reduced-hour workweeks.

But that requires structural choices: labor protections, profit-sharing models, unionized tech sectors, progressive tax frameworks, and a cultural shift away from worshipping overwork.

🟪 So what’s the verdict?

If we stay on our current track, AI won’t usher in a renaissance of leisure; it’ll just let the rich automate themselves into godhood while the rest of the population competes with algorithms for the privilege of working three jobs.

But if we choose differently—if we rebuild the social contract AI is about to stress-test—it could finally deliver the future people in the 60s dreamed about.

The dystopia or utopia isn’t in the technology.

It’s in who owns it—and who gets the keys to the kingdom.