Today, nobody would want to feed all those mouths, not much to extract from them.
Why would you want to enslave much people today, especially when half of them are expected to be of age 40+?
Why would you want to enslave much people today, especially when half of them are expected to be of age 40+?
Likely because machines are single function and people are multifunction, you'll also need people to maintain those machines.
Then there is the less savory reasons.