This will be the second greatest challenge of the next century, after climate change. Many of the problems we face now are already a result of this trend and the next twenty years will be the most telling. At the moment, systems like democracy function because human labor still has value, though that value is already deteriorating. Whether or not this advent will be a catastrophe will come down to what decisions we make now as a society as it will set the trajectory for generations to come.

I've read quite a few books and articles on this subject (and even started writing one of my own until I discovered someone had already done a better job), but haven't seen anything that looks like a believable definite prediction. The biggest x factor is unfortunately our current political schism and the relative calcification of public policy. It might change, but our current path is leading to massive unemployment with no safety net to protect those disenfranchised. Presumably some policy will need to be put in place to prevent millions from starving in the streets, but whether that is a functional system that gives real quality of life or merely subsistence living for millions beholden to public assistance remains to be seen.