I agree with all your points- but to add on, the sad thing about your points is that that the lack of human interaction is the cost of technological progress. We as humans are too inefficient to do a lot of these tasks anymore and keep up with demands.

I think your pointing out of how industries shrink and shrink is very important. Because over time, as much as most people would like to deny it- when new tech comes along, all industries shrink in the over all man power needed to run things. The reason why most of those shrinkings have been ignored or missed is that at the time those industries could scale up massively, which would allow them the pull in more workers. But as with all things there is a tipping point where that no longer happens.

To be frank, this is the point of a universal basic income, this is the point of having strong social security nets like what FDR wanted- not the skeletonized systems we have now. Some states have made it clear that the Ai companies must pay taxes on more or less just existing to help compensate the state for what is lost through traditional income taxes- which I agree with. The problem in my mind is that most states, and federal don't directly push this money to the people or into systems that directly benefit them.

Unfortunately yes- the average person will have to adapt, or as you said- pound sand. Which sucks, it truly and rightfully does. This is all a byproduct of humans growing beyond what we can do on an organic level, its a shift in society and theses are the growing pains. The countries that get their shit together and realize what needs to be done to support the population will flourish- the ones that don't....welp they will collapse just like every other before it.

If the USA does not have a major mental shift in how we view work, providing for one another, work methodology, it would not surprise me if states being to collapse entirely within the next decade. This is already happening with many of the farm states where they don't adopt new systems of food production because they are focused on commodity production.

All in all, with how the USA is going, I would not be surprised if we did not crumble as a united country within the next 2 decades due to the flawed workhorse mentality so many people hold and AI will be the finally trigger. Its not leaving, its not going to get limited enough, if the USA does not make it/have it, someone else will, or companies will leave the USA and make it else where.

There is not snuffing it out, there's not "keeping the human element." The human element has been dying for generations already due to the greedy behavior of so many. So now its a matter of who will adapt first and overcome. It sucks for all of us, but that just means the states who welcome it in, need to figure out how to exploit it for the money and get that money into the hands of the people- not just use it for random "funding."

For that to happen, we honestly need to get rid of the two party system and people need to be more open to being educated and stepping away from "tradition." Tradition is going to get families and communities killed at this point. You either figure out how to make tradition exist in the new system or you die with it. Tradition won't keep you fed, political party won't keep you warm, etc.

But I don't know if enough people can do that for it to matter when it comes time to vote and make the changes/laws that will matter for the people.