AI and Automation: The End of Work, the End of Need, or the End of Us?

For more than 30 years, I have trained professionals across industries as diverse as healthcare, aviation, finance, and manufacturing. I have seen firsthand the skills required for countless roles, from corporate strategists to factory line workers. And yet, when I look at what AI and robotics can already do, I struggle to find a single job that artificial intelligence could not perform better, faster, and cheaper than a human.

This is not an abstract debate. It is an observable fact. AI is already surpassing human capabilities in fields that once required highly trained professionals. Robotics is on the verge of fully automating even the most intricate forms of manual labor. The implications of this transformation will not be equal for all. While some economic systems are structured to handle disruption, others are not.

If we are not careful, capitalism—the system that has dominated the world for centuries—may collapse under its own success. And that may lead to outcomes far darker than most of us are prepared to imagine.

But it does not have to be that way. The transition ahead could lead to our greatest achievement—the end of want itself.

How Different Economic Systems Will Handle the Collapse of Labor

History has always been shaped by the balance between labor and capital. The wealthy and powerful have always needed workers to build their cities, produce their goods, and fight their wars. Now, AI threatens to remove human labor from the equation. Some economic systems are structured to withstand this shift, while others are not.

• Traditional Capitalism (United States, Most of the West) – Capitalism is built on the assumption that people work to earn money and then use that money to buy goods and services. The elimination of human labor threatens to break this cycle. Without wages, who will buy the products that AI-driven corporations create? If unchecked, this could lead to an economic collapse worse than the Great Depression.
• Hybrid Capitalist-Socialist Models (Nordic Countries, Canada, Some EU Nations) – These countries have strong social safety nets, universal healthcare, and subsidized education. Their governments already redistribute wealth to maintain economic stability. While they will still face disruption, their existing structures may allow them to transition more smoothly into a world where work is no longer the primary means of survival.
• State-Controlled Economies (China, North Korea, Some Middle Eastern Nations) – In countries where governments control industries and labor markets, the transition will be more tightly managed. China, for example, is investing heavily in AI and automation while simultaneously exploring ways to maintain social stability. Because the state has direct control over employment and production, it could enforce large-scale redistribution of wealth without the chaos that market-driven economies will face.
• Resource-Based Economies (Oil-Rich Gulf Nations, Some Small Island States) – Countries that generate wealth from resources rather than labor already operate outside the traditional capitalist model. The transition to a world where human work is obsolete may be less disruptive for them—assuming they do not run out of resources.

Each of these models faces different challenges, but capitalism—especially the form practiced in the U.S.—may be the least prepared. The economic elite have long relied on workers to maintain their wealth. What happens when they no longer need us?

Lessons from the Past: The Egyptian Strategy for Idle Hands

This is not the first time in history that the ruling class has had to deal with an excess of unemployed workers. Ancient Egypt offers a chilling precedent.

Egypt was an agricultural society, and its economy revolved around the flooding of the Nile. During certain seasons, farming was impossible, leaving vast numbers of laborers idle. The Egyptian elite knew they could not afford to have thousands of strong, hungry, and purposeless men roaming the streets. That was a recipe for rebellion.

Their solution? They built the pyramids.

Massive construction projects kept people too busy and exhausted to revolt. These projects weren’t just religious monuments—they were social control mechanisms. The pharaohs understood a fundamental truth: A large, idle population is dangerous. People must be given purpose, or they will take it by force.

For centuries, societies have followed this same playbook. Public works, military campaigns, and even wars have been used as tools to occupy restless populations. Governments and corporations have always known that people without purpose become a threat.

Now, consider the world we are entering. What if the elite no longer need workers at all?

The Dark Path: A World Without Purpose

For centuries, the rich and powerful have needed the working class to sustain their wealth. The balance of labor and capital has been the foundation of every economic system. But AI changes that balance in a way nothing ever has before.

If AI and automation eliminate the need for human labor, what happens to the billions of people who no longer serve a purpose in the eyes of the elite?

There are two possible answers to this question.

The first is violent suppression. History has shown that when the ruling class no longer has use for large populations, they do not simply let them exist peacefully. Throughout history, population control has taken many forms: forced sterilization programs, manufactured famines, engineered conflicts, and direct genocide. If the ruling class sees billions of unemployed people as a liability, they may choose a horrifying solution.

The second possibility is global instability. If unemployment skyrockets and economic inequality reaches extreme levels, social unrest will become unavoidable. Mass protests, revolutions, and violent uprisings could become the norm as people demand a new economic model. If this happens, we may see authoritarian crackdowns on a scale never before imagined.

But this does not have to be our future.

The Hopeful Path: The Star Trek Future

There is another way forward. AI and automation do not have to be the tools of oppression. They can be the key to something far greater: the elimination of want itself.

The Star Trek universe offers a vision of what a post-scarcity economy could look like. In that future, AI and automation provide everything humans need, eliminating the struggle for food, shelter, and medical care. Money becomes irrelevant because resources are infinite. Instead of working for survival, people dedicate their lives to science, art, exploration, and self-improvement.

This is not science fiction. The only thing preventing us from achieving this future is how we choose to distribute the wealth generated by AI and automation.

• If AI is controlled solely by corporations and billionaires, we may enter an era of extreme inequality, where only a small elite benefit from technological advancement while the rest of humanity is left behind.
• But if AI is developed as a tool for all humanity—if we create policies that ensure automation benefits everyone—we can transition into a post-scarcity economy.

The pyramids were built because the ruling class still needed the workers. The real question now is: What happens when they don’t?

The Future We Must Choose

AI and automation will change everything. That is inevitable. The only question is who benefits from this transformation: a small elite, or all of humanity?

We have two choices.

One path leads to a world where AI serves the elite, where billions of people are deemed obsolete, and where the most powerful forces in society decide that the masses are expendable.

The other path leads to a world where AI serves humanity, where work is no longer required for survival, where resources are shared, and where people are finally free to explore their true potential.

The elimination of want is the ultimate achievement of civilization. But we must fight for it. Because if we do nothing, we may wake up to find that we are no longer needed at all.

The time to choose our future is now.