Thus maybe the real threat to AI replacing certain types of routine middle class jobs is that we will have a poorer middle class in the short term, and a very reduced middle class in the long term?
This.
It seems that income redistribution would be required to solve this. That is very hard for libertarians or conservatives to swallow and the trouble is socialists who are in favour of redistribution do not mind increasing state power. I'm in favour of automatic redistribution with very limited government. That's something that would go very well with blockchains becoming ubiquitous and government run by people being increasingly replaced by DAOs and AI systems of various kinds.
Great point. I read the first half of the sentence and thought, 'that sounds like a good thing for a blockchain to solve', and then read the rest!