The things that automation can never replace are heart, art, and doing a project for someone because they mean something to you. We do our art because we enjoy the process of creating, not because we want zero waste or perfectly joined patchwork. Then when we're finished we give the project away (usually) so that person has an idea that they mean something to us.
My nephew can go to Wal-Mart today and buy a blanket, but if it tears, he will throw it away. If it fades, he'll throw it away. If it tatters on the edges, he'll throw it away. But the quilt that his aunt and uncle made for him will never get thrown away. It has literally traveled the world with him. He leaves clothes at home when he travels so he'll have enough room to take his quilt. When he's sick, he wants the quilt on him. When he's enjoying a lazy Saturday at home, he drags it around the house with him. He will never get that attached to a computer-created blanket.
While I appreciate automation and the convenience it provides in a lot of areas of our lives, it cannot touch art. And as long as there are humans, there will be art.
Quilt on!
Darren