Reduced crew and single pilot ops are much more likely in the next 20years. I know my operator is actively working with Airbus on this, with a sim already functional. Apparently they are working on a 10 year until production time frame.
It still throws up issues, like how will future pilots be trained, how will these aircraft work alongside conventional aircraft, how does the role of a captain get re defined. But I guess that’s what they are mainly working on, considering aircraft are almost at the autonomous stage any way.
This will bring a reduction in crew and a huge cost saving, particularly in long haul heavy crew ops.
My prediction is in 20 years we will still be required but the job description will have changed dramatically. The chances of touching the controls reduced even further and the job will become essentially a monitoring monkey. This will then pave the way for ully autonomous, alowing future tech the time to be developed.