I'm not so sure that LJ is way off board with the "WSO" thing (and I write as a member of the two-winged master race). Gesture or "brainwave" control might be outlandish or unnecessarily complex, but I can easily see a future in which aircraft handling is fully automated and the "pilot", or more accurately operator, sets tasks for the automation to carry out. This wouldn't involve anything as clunky as contemporary FMSs or autopilot mode selection panels.