Great discussion, guys, but the basic question is assuming the answer. Automation means taking the same job and doing it without direct human intervention. That is not what we should seek for our machines. We should want the basic tasks changed to help us do the real job - safe transport.
Illustration 1: Old fashioned elevator, needed a person (white gloves optional) to guide the machine manually to each floor by aligning marks. Opened inner and outer doors in sequence, all manual. Today we use a button wielded by an untrained person and all the action takes place inside a computer.
Illustration 2: Trolley moves people at an airport, no person involved in any way. A perfect single degree of freedom autopilot used in public transport.
The important thing, I think, is to ask yourself the question "What are the tools I need to do the job safely and efficiently" and press on. Blacksheep has it right, look for the gear that does the job, and if necessary, change the job.
BTW, nobody asks the simple question, "What makes what we now do so wonderful?" A glance at accident causes tells us we are the biggest contributor to the accident rate!
Why should a 737 need constant attention to keep on path? Why is the control scheme that the Wright bros developed the best way to control an air vehicle? For helos, we have developed velocity controllers that basically do all the attitude control, and simply go to the heading, speed and altitude selected by the pilot. They are stable, and their sensors provide 10e9 reliability, about the same as the control tubes on a 737.