re: Automation: What do we do with the truly UNSKILLED that are no longer needed?

The problem will take care of itself just as it always has. In Ice Age Eurasia, only those capable of planning ahead for the winter survived -- this means the intelligence of the average person rose accordingly as the gene pool normalized itself. Along with intelligence, those that didn't develop certain genetic traits (fair skin for vitamin D absorption) were weeded out of the gene pool. In other words, those that were maladapted to the environment either died or didn't reproduce.

The same will happen in a future robotic world. It's just hard to tell exactly what our adaptation will be. I see one of two scenarios:

1) The human population takes a major nosedive because the vast majority of humans simply aren't needed anymore. Those that aren't able to engineer and/or upkeep artificial intelligence systems will be weeded out of the gene pool naturally.

2) The opposite happens and the human population continues to rise. It could be that the AI makes life so easy that even retards and imbeciles can live like kings without being a burden on anyone else. The robots will essentially be our sugar daddies.

Both scenarios have their problems. In the first scenario all but the most specialized humans are essentially replaced by robots. In the second, most humans end up living a worthless existence of luxury with no purpose.