As opposed to a future where the majority of people don't read or spell, because they've spent the last 8-10 hours doing the same repetitive thing over and over again and they're too tired to do anything other than vegetate in front of the TV? To be honest, I think an "Idiocracy" type of future is more likely from the path we're currently treading, where a large number of people will be forced to work long hours at rote, mind-numbing labor because society has predicated your value as a human being on whether you're able to perform some kind of work, even if it's make-work all day.

Historically, scientific and artistic advances have come once people get a measure wealth and free time that allows them to stop worrying about basic necessities and start wondering about the larger questions. I don't see why giving more people that luxury would lead to a decline in artistic and scientific innovation.