How do we deal with the automation problem?

I will postulate that automation cannot be stopped. It's not only robots, it's also Artificial Intelligence and self-organizing systems (it's not what most refer to as AI today).

So, the only thing we can do, is insure that the world moves to true socialism. Any other political/economic system, is bound to end up in dystopia, no matter which way you spin it.

Note that I'm not proposing forced wealth re-distribution, but rather a gradual slide into sharing.

I am an optimist, because we're on the verge of additional technological breakthroughs, that will remove the incentive for people to accumulate wealth.

This is not going to happen overnight, but essentially:

- You need a roof over your head? Think 3D printers, on steroids. In this case, independent nano machines, that can make me a house, and disassemble it, on demand. I want to host a party? No problem, my house can be bigger, and after the party, it's all torn down. Just a bunch of molecules.

- Food. Whatever I want, whenever I want it.

- Healthcare. Agents, within my blood stream, destroy disease, regulate my metabolism, and keep my arteries open.

etc.

This may sound like science fiction, but we're starting to build the foundation for all this today. Within 10 years, we will be able to have injections, capable of producing internal vaccines, against cancer.

Food for thought.