They shouldn’t just feel useful, they need roles that actually are useful. They’re not dumb.

Of course, though I still think remembering that people need to feel useful is important. E.g. you don't want to force someone into a job that may be useful but the person is feeling "why am I doing this, it's not needed." The goal is also not to fill time or a money quota. It's to do something helpful such that the person actually feels helpful.

Either:

1. They are "dumb" and the original statement stands

2. They are not "dumb" and a role that is actually useful is a necessary condition for them feeling useful and the original statement stands.

There are useful roles that could either be done by a human or a machine and the machine is usually more efficient.