Birthrates are declining but we haven't quite gotten to the point of a population stall or regression. We still have more people than there's work for, evidently, which is a key problem with the idea that people are more or less judged entirely by their line of work. Obviously, I was being facetious about deporting our computers. I'm aware of the fact that computers and technology are providing a new job market, but every piece of good work a developer does, it's one less piece of work that a human has to do. As programmers, many have suggested that we are coding ourselves out of the job. It's not a total pipe-dream to make software that can maintain itself, and when that happens, it's going to be a big hit to the IT job market.

When I say we need new metrics, I was really trying to suggest that, on a social level, we are getting to the point where it's becoming logical to abandon the notion that you are your job, and find a new economic system to support an abundant, automation-driven society. We aren't there just yet, but it's a problem we need to at least begin to think about before we have to deal with a massive, potentially irreversible employment crisis.