Sorry, there must have been a couple of misunderstandings.

That was supposed to be sarcastic

Sarcasm probably isnt the correct word. More like "cynic statement with no contribution to the debate". I know full well that the US is a shit show, and I am scared shitless that they export their "new" culture to the whole world.

Great, so in your scenario, things will still be great

No. In my opening statement, I clearly said that people will suffer. People are suffering already. More than once, people in my family tree had to suffer through their job being replaced by automation and economic forces.

with the technology they have RIGHT NOW.

Now, this is the point where I disagree: if it is possible with today's tech, why is it not happening? Why is automation limited to repeatetive tasks and stuff like self checkout?

Either companies aren't as greedy (unlikely), or the tech isnt quite there yet.

Replacing as many human-powered the is the express purpose of AI by nearly every corporate entity. Stop pretending that it isn’t.

I don't. Public corporations are, by definition, legally required to be greedy, soulless machines. Salary is one of the biggest, if not the biggest single cost item for most service companies.

However, many of the people trying to convince us that "AI" is there and inevitable are those that conveniently have an interest in selling AI.

I am scared of the societal effects of so-called AI, don't get me wrong. But not because it will replace "all jobs". Will it eliminate some jobs? Probably. Are the current prognoses overhyped? IMHO, also likely.

Besides, many issues with today's society (especially in the US) have nothing to do with AI, like exploited "gig workers", lack of social security, ridiculously expensive costs of (bad) education, and not enough people being held accountable for their actions if they are rich. None of those need AI, but AI surely doesn't help either.