What will be scarce?
Summary
Imas argues that cheap AI-produced goods need not make human labor economically irrelevant. As automated goods get cheaper and incomes rise, spending may move toward a “relational sector”—care, education, hospitality, craft, and other activities where human involvement is part of the value.
Why it matters
The essay reframes the labor question from which existing jobs will survive to which scarce goods and services people will demand in a richer, more automated economy.
What to keep in mind
The argument describes sectoral reallocation, especially in rich economies; it does not claim that labor’s aggregate income share must remain unchanged.