There is no profit without exploitation. At some point in the creation or extraction of wealth one party has to take advantage of the other. If both parties are fully aware of the total costs and the other party's perceived value of the trade then it's pretty difficult to make a profit. Humankind has exploited domesticated animals, enslaved their fellow beings and now tears up the planet on an industrial scale with machinery not powered by muscles but instead by fossil fuels.
The coming age of the robot means the owners of machines can have tireless workers who can not perceive value or make demands. The robots only need energy and maintenance. The robots will not look like metal plated people but they will be used in place of the average worker and eventually replace entire classes of workers. It's already happening, human beings no longer paint automobiles for the assembly line or for that matter do most of the welding. It might be only a few years in the future before the voice on the phone that places your order, takes your customer complaint or handles your account is an automated program and not a living breathing person.
Maybe the future of humankind could end up being a debilitating dependency on robots. Or robots could bring freedom from drudgery. When you have machinery that can be exploited beyond any human endurance then the society could be facing a radical change between the owners of wealth and the large masses of people who are not needed or are at best under employed.
I only wonder what happens when the robots start creating art and producing original design.
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