[2020] Automation vs. Grind

Let me first say that I really like the concept of the game and I have now 100s of hours in the game.

However, the game is missing an important aspect of modern civilization: automation. The fact that you need to wait the last "technological age" to get machines, the absence of conveyor belts, the absence of cargo shafts for the mines, etc etc

In the end, if you couple this with the game's approach to pollution, I think it is just very naive.

I looked through the developer notes and I see them absorbed with buliding customization and contracts etc. but I don't see them working on the automation part. what's going on?