The robotic bricklayers are in the future and on the moon. Intelligence, dextrous, cheap labor is plentiful on Earth, but that won't necessarily be true elsewhere.
As for contemptuous automation, consider that it frees up humans to do more emotionally, mentally, or physically challenging work. We do need to provide for those immediately displaced by automation though, since despite economists' wishes, humans don't instantly retrain and self-allocate to new jobs and industries.
In the post-scarcity world that I hope we are working toward, people will have more time to pursue their interests, which may include hobbyist bricklaying, while machines labor to make living safe, affordable, and pleasant.
Some forms of FTL travel also opens the door to time travel, so even if there is no multiverse and our universe has a point in its future where all energy is at its lowest possible state, we could still bounce around between the Big Bang and the heat death for quite a while.
>A jury verdict that is contrary to the letter of the law pertains only to the particular case before it. However, if a pattern of acquittals develops in response to repeated attempts to prosecute a particular offence, this can have the de facto effect of invalidating the law.
As for contemptuous automation, consider that it frees up humans to do more emotionally, mentally, or physically challenging work. We do need to provide for those immediately displaced by automation though, since despite economists' wishes, humans don't instantly retrain and self-allocate to new jobs and industries.
In the post-scarcity world that I hope we are working toward, people will have more time to pursue their interests, which may include hobbyist bricklaying, while machines labor to make living safe, affordable, and pleasant.