Dear Billie Bob,
Thank you very warmly for this very informative and (finaly!) authorised unbiased opinion! I'd love to have you in my flight deck on a long haul flight.
I wish and hope the moderator would (will?) re-open this thread for all to read it.
I do not want to contradict anything of what you laid down so clearly in your post, as I haven't got the the intelectual nor educational backgorund to do so, however, on a strictly philosophical level, one little sentence tickled my aviator's cynically rebellious mind:
Why? Because Murphy's Law, politics, and human nature & wisdom will join hands to keep humans in the loop.
Either I am still blind form a 1968 revolutionary mentality, or is it that in the past......so many years ( I won't tell how many, as I am still hoping to get Cindy Crawford in my flight deck too...we've got bunks!) I have been flying all around the planet, I have the impression that exactly the opposite of what you state has happened, is happening, and shows all the signs of continuity.
Come on Earthmover, jump in!
And a very happy New Year to all!