The whole "Jobs lost, jobs gained" argument has been proven to be false after decades now of hearing this. It's an argument made by capitalism to legitimize itself and also make people feel like they're not luddites.
I have worked in commercial print and digital design for 30 years and have seen all of these jobs vaporize — and never once saw the "jobs gained". All of those printers or film-strippers or type-setters either became waiters or faded from the world completely. The only jobs gained are at the very top (Adobe, Google, etc.) or on the bottom. Ironically the only jobs that were ever stable are blue-collar, like plumbers, welders and electricians.
This gets proven year after year. Just saying "unfortunately, this is how it is" is the reason we just keep marching off the edge of a cliff. It's contributed to our current state of populism/authoritarianism, as well as depression, suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, etc., in my view, since what made us human before — agency, creativity, DIY — has been/is being eliminated.
We are on an inexorable march towards total automation of human creation. CG is indeed already coming for Hollywood (reboots of Raiders of the Lost Ark using faked Harrison Ford, for example); it's only a matter of time before actors are fully replaced. There are fewer movie stars than ever. Porn is already becoming AI.
And music? Most new pop music is automated, or semi-automated, with Autotune, etc. There are literally no rock stars anymore. Most photographers I know are already semi- or fully-unemployed already.
This is simply becoming a world where human endeavors are becoming "irrelevant," and all of the arts — like photography, art and music — are just side hobbies. No wonder culture is in such a low place now, and many or most people just look to the past. Dystopian indeed. Glad I am not a young person.
