Maybe it is not so much an individuals fault but more symptomatic of todays flying training?
Absolutely agree. It is the fault of the regulators and company Check and Training that is the root cause. A pilot cannot and should not be expected to work out what he needs to know/what techniques/skills he should have. He didn't design the aeroplane and he didn't dream up the concept of flight. Our industry and society in general gets better because the lessons learned by earlier generations are used by current day society, not by pilots having to individually "gain" all that experience, first-hand, over and over again.
From where I sit at least, there has been a fundamental failure of the hierarchy to ensure that pilots are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to operate in the magenta-line world. It's not as though this problem has just popped up and people have been caught out. The writing has been on the wall for years but has been ignored.
I must say that this AD has nothing to do with it!
I disagree. This is all about crews being unfamiliar enough with handflying that they get themselves into bother when they have to so they leave hte AP in for too long. A crew who routinely hand flies in a less-automated aircraft will cope much better with a loss of airspeed because they are used to it (and probably know the powers and attitudes like the back of their hand); they are much more likely to get rid of the AP earlier.