Work was the mechanism for the distribution of wealth
the problem
For most of history, a lot of human labor was required to produce food, housing, clothing, transportation, and services. Therefore, a natural connection was created between the person's contribution to production and his share in the product: he sold time and skills and received a salary. Capitalism, socialism, and the welfare state disputed the distribution of income, but they all operated in a world where the economy needed the work of most people.
The Dividist claim
Labor is not just a means of production. It is also the main mechanism for distributing income, status, security and political power. When technology reduces the amount of labor required, it doesn't just change the factory; It erodes the mechanism by which most citizens receive a share of the abundance.
the resistance
Previous technological revolutions have eliminated professions but created others. Therefore, there is no certainty that work will disappear, and it is possible that artificial intelligence and robotics will create many new jobs.
the answer
Dividendism does not depend on the prophecy of mass unemployment. Even if new jobs are created, the increase in productivity increases the share of machines, software and capital in the creation of the product. The question is not only if there will be jobs, but who will own the capital that produces an ever-increasing share of the abundance. A future profession also does not support a person who has lost his current income. Therefore, we need to start building an additional source of income before we know which professions will survive.