Absolutely this is a thought experiment where "an economy" might be The Machine.

I also thought of explaining this concept using a magic wand, but wanted something more grounded.

But calling it a machine I think helps us avoid some of our political hang ups about organizing the productive machinery of society. Even if The Machine ends up being more like our normal economy.

I still hope some day we can literally have a large machine that does a bunch of this. I do think it would be truly useful.