MMI is a larger subject than just the controls - it's the whole way we interface with the machine.
Aircraft Pilot Coupling was an attempt to be politically correct and try not to blame the pilot for the problem. In most circles, it has been allowed to gracefully fade away to let PIO come back to accepted use.
And don't you just love fly by wire stuff that's done without relation to the real world.
Further to the AA Newark crash aircraft, I was just told by some AA folks that the breakout was 22 lbs, and the force for max deflection was 32 lbs - but the travel for max deflection was just over 2 to 3 inches (or some other ridiculously small distance).