Was this before or after the robots that took everybody's jobs?

It took decades for the computer revolution to become the personal computer revolution and businesses could adapt workflows and build out new ways to spend their R&D money (remember this was all back when stock buybacks were illegal, so companies were still investing in themselves) to fill the headcounts. It's taken mere months for generative AI to upend businesses and schools, destroying entire professions. I do not see the two as being highly comparable.