The 20th century did not even have machine guns at first and the nobles still had a need of a capable workforce back then.

Between those, biological, chemical and nuclear weapons, missiles and drones and the fact that using them against the civilian population has no impact on the economy, I think you may need to rethink your use of force.

Or do you actually think that they're building humanoid robots to automate blue collar work? More like automate the boys in blue, with unwavering loyalty.

There is no other choice but force, however. That's how all revolutions go.