The real issue is in your last phrase. It's not the automation itself which didn't deliver, but the fact that the general folk doesn't see much of the benefits. Yeah okay we got automated and have to retrain towards other jobs, but those new jobs look just as shitty as the previous ones.
What periods of time are we comparing? Sure, products and services are better than before the industrial revolution. But within my lifetime, I noticed certain goods in categories like food, furniture, electronic appliances, got worse. Customer service also took a nosedive.
Not food and housing. Getting a brand new AAA video game mostly generated by AI dirt cheap is awesome, but that's not going to matter much when you can barely afford rent and groceries
