I notice in the airplane world they have been talking about the issue of automation being so ubiquitous pilots lose their hand flying abilities. The first time I had an auto-pilot it took some getting used to. Eventually I learned to trust it, and in my opinion it made operations safer.
I think it will always come with some skill erosion but it’s probably less than airplane pilot’s experience. Much of my flight time required hands on the sticks, but I suppose that’s job dependent.
When the visibility was low or the weather was looking questionable it was pretty comforting to know I had it. And I fully intended to engage it if I lost the horizon. Then I monitored to make sure me and it agreed on which way is up. But I certainly saw some people who were reluctant to use it and saw it as something like a crutch for less skilled pilots. I know of two accidents that could have been avoided simply by engaging it. I suspect when this investigation is through that will be the case as well.
As far as the building skill vs losing it through automation stuff. I know that despite the skill erosion in many airplane pilots, they don’t seem to smack themselves into the ground as much when they hit clouds.