>It may be technically possible to certify a pilotless airliner in my lifetime but I, for one, will not be getting on board. I suspect that I will not be alone in this prejudice<.
I would say that we are not many years away in being able to certify an unmanned craft capable of carrying freight or people. Technology will keep moving on.
There are naysayers among us that live in the past or dwell in the present who will be reluctant to step on board, but our great industry needs futuristic thinking people to make things happen.
(I bet Wilbur and Orville had many naysayers around when they were trying to venture aloft).
>In military terms, have any of the robotics boffins considered how much fun a fighter pilot would have in a sky full of UAVs?<
Manned fighters will not be mixing with UAVs as 'G' loading will limit them as well as other variables.
The more that human factors can be removed both in the manufacturing and operation of the machine, then safety will increase. Planetary travel in the next 50 years is bound to change.