Automation has the POTENTIAL to free up humans from a lot of drudgery and shitty work.

In practice, though, it's simply a wealth intensifier. Only capital will own the machines because, at least right now, they're fucking expensive. But the savings they capture will be enough to make the folks at the top even richer. Absent some beautiful moment where a lot of this production suddenly becomes publicly owned, you can imagine how this warps capitalist society even further.

Another element to consider here is that even if all the jobs automation takes get replaced, it's not necessarily the same people who lost work that will be offered it again. Many of the professions ripe for automation disproportionately employ people of color compared to other professions, and many of the jobs automation might create in engineering, programming, etc. are in fields that have traditionally been hostile towards women and people of color. Line will go up, and the employment numbers might not look as terrible as we expect, but already disadvantaged groups will be losing their jobs.