Short:
In the game you have the option to supplement pops with robots and eventually turn your pops into machines. It's also a 40k mechanicus joke.
Long:
Machines will supplement workforce. So we don't need more pops when the pops are getting more efficient. Having too many spares will just add more food demand which will drain resources better allocated elsewhere. Have to balance growth with jobs and resources if you want to win.
Min max FTW!
I couldn't find 1 mention to a community, or a project. So much text in the web or the PDFs for what? I'd have loved to see anything, like a device to measure contamination in water. Anyway, I guess that's how it is with blind science powered by savior complex. Sorry to be flaming this post, it angries me. Can anyone mention one such example of enriching or addressed needs for a community?