Automation is supposed to remove effort.
And in many places, it does.
But it also creates a new layer of work — work that didn't exist before.
Someone has to:
decide what gets automated
monitor when it fails
explain outcomes
take responsibility when things go wrong
This work is subtle. It's cognitive, not mechanical.
As machines handle execution, humans move into interpretation, judgment, and accountability.
The paradox is this: automation removes tasks, but increases responsibility.
And responsibility doesn't scale as easily as code.
That's the shift worth noticing.