This can easily happen if new generation pilots are more and more poorly trained to fly.
The industry can have what ever standard of training it's prepared to pay for. Once the reliability of automatics is well established the authorities will be under increasing pressure to allow greater reliance on them for licencing purposes.
Of the following options which is likely to be cheaper ?
1. Train pilots for, and keep them recent in, rarely needed manual flying skills.
2. Train systems managers to operate automated aircraft.
Remember the arguments going on 20+ years ago about retaining flight engineers ?