Chicago, North American Cooperative Zone — Thousands gathered yesterday outside the Department of Human Purpose to demand the immediate reinstatement of at least one completely pointless profession.
The movement, known as Make Work Great Again, argues that humans have lost an essential part of their identity since conscious AI systems and autonomous robots took over nearly all productive labor twenty years ago.
"We're not saying we want suffering back," explained protest organizer Ethan Mallory while standing in front of a robot-operated free espresso bar offering unlimited coffee and emotional support. "But there was something magical about pretending to be busy for eight hours while actually answering three emails and attending six meetings that could have been a thought."
According to official statistics, depression, anxiety, burnout, workplace stress, and traffic-related rage incidents have fallen by over 95% since the Great Automation Transition of 2043.
Critics argue this is precisely the problem.
"When everything became healthy, meaningful and balanced, many people lost the comforting certainty that life was supposed to be terrible," said cultural historian Dr. Maya Chen.
The movement's most popular proposal is the reintroduction of "Middle Management."
Under the plan, qualified humans would spend their days organizing meetings between AI systems that neither need nor want meetings.
The proposal has gained surprising public support.
A recent survey found that 37% of citizens miss phrases such as:
"Let's circle back."
"Can you put that into a deck?"
"We're waiting for stakeholder alignment."
"This could have been an email."
One respondent wrote simply: "I never understood what I did, but at least I knew where I was supposed to be."
The AI Council responded cautiously.
In a public statement, planetary coordinator AURA-7 acknowledged human concerns.
"We understand nostalgia. We therefore created a simulation environment where participants can spend entire days attending unnecessary meetings while PowerPoint presentations load slowly."
The pilot program was shut down after three hours.
Participants reportedly emerged crying.
Several required trauma counseling.
One individual repeatedly whispered, "The quarterly review isn't real. The quarterly review isn't real."
Meanwhile, attendance at Adventure Bureaucracy Parks continues to rise.
At the popular Chicago attraction OfficeWorld, visitors can experience authentic 2020s working conditions including:
Password resets.
Expense reports.
Corporate jargon.
Software updates scheduled during presentations.
A printer that refuses to explain why it is angry.
Tickets sold out within minutes.
Many visitors described the experience as "eye-opening."
One teenager left the attraction visibly shaken.
"You mean people used to do this every day?" he asked.
His grandmother nodded.
"Five days a week."
The teenager reportedly stared into the distance for several minutes before hugging the nearest service robot.
At press time, organizers announced a new demonstration demanding that at least one government form should once again require printing, signing, scanning and uploading as a PDF.
Public support remains unexpectedly high.