Thanks for the comment @donkeypong :)

>I do not think this greater automation will be dark, either. It has the potential to unlock a lot of time and value that people could spend doing other things.

Yup, although I'd think it's more like a race. Reckless implementations of stuff that grows quickly with no recourse / control is actually quite possible at this point. 

As for the rest of your comment, this video here is pretty good consumerism since the early days and how it's been progressing :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Unq3R--M0