I’m not following most of your rant, like why you think a car factory worker in 1980 was skilled labor that took years to learn. Most simply bolted fenders on cars.

What you got right is that life is hard, and we all do what we can to improve our lot in life. Automation simply replaces the stuff no one wants to do (bolt fenders in place) with stuff we do want to do (design a better bolt). In the 1800s, few people could read; today, due to the industrial revolution, most people can read (in the US) — that’s a good thing, right? The 2nd standard deviation of 1800 doesn’t even exist in modern times, because the entire curve shifted. Yet you think that stopping the curve from shifting again is a good thing? Would you give up your electronics & software, much of which was designed by automated processes?

There is no social contract for labor.