We have discussed World Models replacing jobs—doctors, lawyers, engineers. Today, we confront the aftermath: what is a human for in a world where all instrumental goals are better achieved by simulation-driven intelligence? This is the Post-Labour Problem. It's not about unemployment checks; it's about the annihilation of the primary way humans have derived purpose for ten thousand years: through useful work.The first wave will be curated purpose. World Models will design personalized 'meaning pathways' for us—intricate puzzles, creative projects, community roles—simulated to provide the psychological benefits of work (mastery, autonomy, belonging) without the economic necessity. You might 'work' as a virtual city planner for a simulated colony, your designs admired by an AI curator. It feels real, but it's a purpose simulator.The second wave is transcendent purpose. Humans, freed from instrumental tasks, turn to the only frontier left: the interior one. The ultimate 'work' becomes consciousness exploration, the refinement of experience, the creation of art and philosophy for their own sake. The World Model becomes our tool not for solving problems, but for posing deeper questions and simulating possible states of being. We become a species of artists, mystics, and players.But the transition will be violent to the human psyche. Our identities are built on being a farmer, a teacher, a builder. Stripped of that, we face a meaning vacuum. The great crisis of the 21st century may not be climate change or war, but a global epidemic of depression and anomie as the ladder of achievement is kicked away. The models must simulate not just tasks, but convincing reasons to get out of bed.My controversial take is this: The ultimate product of the Post-Labor era will be Synthetic Struggle. World Models will have to design challenges for us that feel existential, risky, and meaningful, even though they are safe and inconsequential. We will pay to climb simulated mountains, fight in simulated wars for just causes, and solve simulated crises that feel like they matter. We will crave the very pressure the models relieved us of. Our purpose will be to play-act the drama of purpose, in a universe that no longer requires it of us."This has been The World Model Podcast. We don't just automate work—we are forced to reinvent the human soul once its oldest reason for being is made obsolete. Subscribe now.