What happens to jobs, training, and the economy when companies run mostly on AI and automation?

As I think about the future of automation and AI, I see a scenario where companies operate with very few human employees and rely mostly on machines and software. That makes me wonder how they would even bring in and train new workers when so many traditional entry-level roles disappear. Those roles are usually how people gain experience, so without them, the whole pipeline into the workforce starts to break down. Would people be trained through personalized AI assistants, or would companies push that responsibility onto the education system and expect governments to constantly adapt schools to match industry needs?

I also wonder if companies would end up funding large-scale training programs themselves, almost like internal education systems. But even if training is solved, there is still the bigger issue of income. If automation replaces a large number of jobs, a lot of people could lose stable earnings, which reduces overall consumer demand. At that point, something like universal basic income might become necessary just to keep the economy functioning, since companies ultimately depend on people having money to spend.

It also raises questions about how value is distributed. If most productivity comes from automated systems owned by a small number of companies, wealth could become highly concentrated. Does that mean governments would start taxing automated companies more heavily to redistribute income and keep the economy running? That could work in theory, but it also creates risks if the system becomes too centralized or dependent on a few major players.

Then there is the incentive problem. If everything is automated, what motivates people to start new companies or innovate? Does progress shift toward things like human enhancement, such as brain-computer interfaces or robotic upgrades as a goal to reach so humans can compete with their own creation? That path starts to feel pretty dystopian. Another possibility is the creation of new hierarchies where people will compete to climb into smaller, more powerful groups that control automated systems, which also is dystopian.

Right now, I struggle to see a version of this future that does not drift in a dystopian direction in one way or another.