You're conflating AI with machine learning and with automation
Yes, I concede this point. However, an aircraft operates in a total system where some "smarts" either human or AI commands a lower level system to implement the automation to do the manipulation of the aircraft in space. The automation bit is relatively easy, and well established technology.
What most people here are talking about is the smarts, that is the challenge that most are alluding to here. In the case of the Sully, I also concede that the automation level required to implement the turn and configure for a return is relatively straight forward. What I am questioning how to implement the AI command decision to make the turn or take another choice or any one of thousand of possible scenario's that arise across the planet every day for takeoffs and landings with a range of mechanical malfunctions.
How do you write code for each specific scenario? Is every takeoff in a twin jet going be running the double engine failure and return scenario calculation for every takeoff and climb until a return is no longer possible? How about the CX scenario above with one thrust lever at idle and one stuck at 75% for approach. Is the computer going to be running every know scenario constantly? There are a lot of predictable scenario's that haven't yet been seen, and and even more that we can't imagine, but will happen given sufficient time.
I am specifically talking about the implementation of the command aspects of the flying problem, and I thank you for forcing clarification of this point.
As to AlphaGo vs AlphaGo zero, yes I was well aware of the differences between the two, which raises more subtle points. Humans cannot follow the gameplay of AGZ in some case, and see unprecedented & crazy moves which are completely foreign, This issue this raises is reproducibility, how does an algorithm arrive at its decision? It isn't always explainable, or in some cases reproducible which is going to be a legal issue when the inevitable accidents occur. Any highly complex system that meets the real world, human or AI is going to have accidents eventually.