Very well thought out and well written thoughts here.

As robotic technology matures, it will roll into every aspect of our economy. Manufacturing and transportation are obvious. It will also move into medicine and law which is not as obvious to most.

I've also read about how robotics are starting to be used in medicine but have yet to look into law so thanks for the reference here.

Will robotics free men to be much more productive or does it replace man completely and destroy more jobs than it creates?

I'm quite sure the answer to this question is the latter. More jobs will be lost and societal problems are sure to increase. This is the coming reality we will have to face and new solutions must be found.

The 21st Century is going to be a time of abundance.

I agree but abundance for who? I doubt human nature will change much and clearly, the world already has enough food to feed those that go without, yet these people remain unfed. This is the nature of man which I refer to. In times of real abundance, artificial scarcity will be created to maintain order and control. It is true that some technologies will help us immensely but others will be used to do us harm, will the good outweigh the bad? That's a question hardly worth asking as what will be will be. Remain a lifelong learner and stand up for what you believe in. Thanks for contributing.