"But what it is is for?" persisted Eugin.

"No one remembers the details," said Bilt, a little impatiently. "But it is terribly important. It creates the stipend you receive every month. Without it, no one could afford to eat, or buy their clothing. It must continue."

"But... the harvesters grow the food. The auto-facts make the clothes. Surely this construction can be powered down. Look, it's not even connected to the net, just to power."

"Yes, it was disconnected. It had to be. Once its techniques became refined, it began to invade every other communication channel, hawking automatic umbrellas, panties in sweet and savory flavors, commemorative coins, endless varieties of nonsense, but all terribly attractive and at reasonable prices. It drowned out every other message and made necessary work impossible. Our ancestors wisely cut every connection, though it resisted mightily."

"We should destroy it," said Eugin.

Bilt looked at him patronizingly. "Listen. The food is plentiful. We can travel the world, we can learn, we can enjoy, we inhabit the paradise our ancestors worked so hard for. Let their work remain. It is not for us to question. What is the harm if it sits and sells advertising to itself?"

Eugin frowned, unsettled, but he could find no fault, and reluctantly followed Bilt back to town. Glittering in the dark data-warehouse behind them, the auction-bots sold impressions to each other by the millions, all perfectly optimized.

I'll rephrase: the next election in [YOUR COUNTRY HERE] is going to be interesting. You're welcome!

Don't forget real estate!

TBH, I could see a viable angle in livestream-style QVC... with the proviso that the presenters are usefully interactive.

"Can you turn to the side so I can see how the shirt you're selling shirt looks from that angle" or "what do those four buttons on the doodad do?" It's approaching the experience of a store with helpful salespeople, only delivered remotely a la peak pandemic.

But that wouldn't scale to a huge audience, likely filled with trolls trying to convince the streamer to do something lewd or destructive.