Steamchicken,
There are a lot of PPRuNe accident threads where partial automation is discussed as a factor - for example, autopilot on but autothrottle off, autopilot conflict between capturing glideslope and platform altitude.
Python programmers have a saying, indeed a rule-of-thumb, that "explicit is better than implicit", i.e. it's better to specify conditions tightly, provide literal information in error conditions, always be clear about what the machine is doing, what it is meant to be doing, and what actually happened.
Not sure what/who Python programmers are. From an NG rated pilot's perspective, there are some ancilliary (technologically speaking) design elements (CWS anyone?) in the flightdeck of the NG relative to peers of that generation. These elements surely handcuffed the designers from achieving ideal conditions with respect to the Python's credo above.