Will AI Yield Abundance Without Purpose?

# Will AI Yield Abundance Without Purpose? Source: [https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/ai-abundance-without-purpose-meaning-by-carl-benedikt-frey-2026-06](https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/ai-abundance-without-purpose-meaning-by-carl-benedikt-frey-2026-06) enEnglish [Culture](https://www.project-syndicate.org/section/culture-society)Work and employment play a uniquely powerful role in structuring people’s days and conferring a sense of belonging, status, and self\-worth\. Although AI boosters insist that people would organically find new sources of meaning if most jobs are automated, there is no reason to assume so\. OXFORD—In Kurt Vonnegut’s 1952 novel[*Player Piano*](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/184341/player-piano-by-kurt-vonnegut/), machines have automated most industry, leaving just a few engineers and managers to oversee things\. Everyone else is fed and housed by the state, with nothing to do\.