Yes, automation really just shifts labor from hands on manufacturing to developing, building and maintaining automation.

And no, AI isn't coming for those jobs anytime soon. It's the age old catch 22 of automation. Automation is economical for volume production, but automation equipment is made in very small volumes so you can't automate automation very well.

Well, beckhoff is trying to get around that problem by making automation more of a lego, but it remains to be seen if it takes off and if it does, how much does it really reduce labor. Not by that much I'm thinking.