This isn't absurd; it's related to advancements in transportation and lifespan. The significant increase in human lifespan is a phenomenon of the last two centuries. Before that, the real headache was finding successors for artisans before their deaths. However, transportation, often overlooked, is even more crucial—it determines the capacity of a community and the ease of population replenishment. The larger the community, the more candidates there are for the same profession, leading to greater substitutability and competition. AI, lacking lifespan and requiring no transportation (only infrastructure), is the ideal replacement for artisans.