If humans are not needed for work, they are not needed at all. They become useless animals at a zoo - soon-to-be extinct, outdated relics of curiosity.
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they likely said that about the first guy to build a bridge over a major river - I mean what about all the water taxis and ferries that one bridge put out of work? All those people must have just wandered off, dropped on their backs and died.
I'm not saying that work shouldn't change with technology. I'm saying that taking away ALL work, as many in Silicon Valley think is going to happen, would be deadly for humanity.
BTW, I don't think technology—robots or AI—is going to take away human work. I think it is going to transform us and our work.