I think this is the model that Karl Smith has in mind. Assume
robots are the same as humans. Robots can do all the work that
humans can do. Robots need the same amount of energy/food to
stay functioning as humans do, but robots themselves can produce
that energy/food just like humans can. Robots will need
maintenance and training as humans do, but robots themselves can
produce that maintenance and training just like humans can.
Robots can produce other robots, just as humans can produce
other humans. The only difference between robots and humans is
that robots are owned by humans. Robots are just like human
slaves. Robots will earn the same wages as humans, but those
wages, minus the costs of the robots' subsistence, will go to
the robots' owners. Just like slaves. Robots' owners will
program their robots to build more robots, as long as the
surplus of wages over subsistence is positive. Just like slave-
owners will want their slaves to reproduce. And just like human
workers reproduce in a Malthusian model. Gi