PJ2;
I think there are good reasons to base criticism of the 320/330/340 design philosophy upon, but citing notions that "the pilot has no control over the airplane", or that " 'the computers' have taken control" is not a solid, nor informed basis for such criticism.
Thoughtful post and thank you for it. The A330/340 series represent the pinnacle of achivement in control automation. Essentially, the design in its entirety is a "system of systems" and this area is still very much a work in progress in all control systems philosophy. It's not the control systems themselves the represent the "problem", as you rightly point out, but the manner in which they interact both between themselves and with the operating crew.
Will (IIRC) brought forward the concept of "supremacy" in terms of the relationship between the operational philosophy of the avionics suite in its complex totality and that of the essentially passive crew, whose operational role is now more of observers, rather than participants, viewing events through myopic PFDs .
Nothing I've read suggests anyone posting here is a Luddite and I believe it's generally accepted that the level of automation will continue to increase, to the benefit of all. ABI are very much at the forefront of this and, rightly or wrongly, will take the flak when the holes line up.
It seems, to me at least, that the industry may have got ahead of itself in using the speed of digital electronics to marry functions which traditionally had little or no direct interdependance without paying sufficient attention to the need for an elegant regression to manual control.
Thanks again.
24V