Won't someone think of the poor 19th century English textile workers! That group still has no jobs today and worldwide quality of life is clearly so much worse for it!
Soft plug for Cyberpunk 2077 and Blade Runner if you want to see how that happens.
Except reality would be far more soul-crushing, most people wouldn't have autonomy or success that make for interesting stories. Most people would just have the choice to live in a company office, die to corporate police, or become cyberhomeless.
Oh yea I know it, had it worded as 'company megacity' at one point but didn't want to sound anti-city.
That and even if they don't own the city, it can be a detriment especially looking at new technological ways they could control workers even without physical isolation. And I'm sure they could use this power to exploit a greater number of people, too.
I don't think many of them even realize what they're doing. I'm not sure any billionaires truly realize how divorced from reality their little bubble is. It's the only conclusion I can come to. They legit think all these streaming services are affordable, they legit think houses are affordable still, they think "freeing them up" from employment will make their (ex-)employees happier because they don't have to work anymore or something. It's the only thing I can think when I look at just how many outrageously wealthy people would have to be truly evil for this system to turn out the way it is. The only conclusion I can think of is that, for the most part, they're normal people who got super lucky and are so divorced from reality they don't realize how hard they're fucking the system over.
I'm commenting on the part about "freeing up employees" as if they'll be able to live without a job once their role is replaced and becomes redundant. Robots are cool. Robots should be doing warehouse jobs. I was simply commenting on the choice of words.
That line is about freeing up employee hours to do other tasks
Shitloads of people in manufacturing, service, and distribution will be losing their jobs in the next decade or so as a result of automation. I just don't think that's a bad thing.