Robots

“Why not use robots here?", I asked. "Why continue to use slaves?”
“First, we don’t have room for the necessary support infrastructure, and it might be noticed if we did. Maybe in a few years we will have more robots.
“We also like our pets. If we did not have you, who would we play with? Robots are programmed and rather predictable. We do not want sex robots. There is no fun in domination, over something that is completely obedient.” He looked at me as if I should be flattered.
“As you have seen, we do use robots for some maintenance tasks, like cleaning the pools and maintaining the lawns. These are small and becoming widespread at other resorts. So they look normal from the air.”
“Also, We like women. We need real people to interact with. We need some form of entertainment. There is a bit of prestige involved in being able to manage real humans. There has always been status in owning slaves.”
I thought about rich people displaying their wealth through their luxurious constructions, servants, and expensive toys. Of course they won’t want to give that up entirely. They use it for ranking and display, like strange birds.
Then, he continued, “The robotic systems are still in development and need testing. We started with manufacturing, which is progressing well. We are developing robots to replace transportation and security. We need armies, which are effective and stable. The wars are finalizing the development and testing on new security technologies.
I asked, “security technologies?” I wondered what he means, exactly.
“As capitalism comes to a close, and human labor is phased out, we won’t be able to rely on human security forces as we have in the past. They have families and needs as well. They won’t be reliable. They could even turn on us. The robots are more effective and loyal. There is nothing a human can do to appeal for mercy, bribe, or sympathize with, a robot. We expect much more compliance within in the face of our security forces, after the human enforcers are replaced.”
“We also need better AI to streamline the design process for robotics. Humans can do it over time, but AI will allow us to do it faster, with more precision. It will also take humans out of the loop. Once the humans no longer understand the programs, it will be harder for them to replicate or sabotage.”
“Still", he said, "the switch to automation must be incremental. Both to work out the bugs, and for consumers to accept the changes. Human laborers must believe that they are not efficient enough, not skilled enough, to compete with their robot replacements. They will be angry about it, but they will blame advances in technology and market forces, which they believe no one can control, but god.