As automation increases, I suspect as the pilot skills become even less necessary, being a team player will become more of an issue in the cockpit.
Yes and no. First the No. As automation increases, so the prospect of it containing bugs increases. There will be bugs in the software as written, some in the compilers used to create the software, some in the processors in the FMS boxes, others in the avionics hardware. So even writing perfect software gives no guarantee that a 100% reliable system will be in the air - so if just for that reason, pilots will be required. Then you have the "Ah, we hadn't considered that" aspect. When in service, faults are often found with the basic aircraft hardware, like valves, transducers, sensors etc., resulting in unpredictable behaviour of the aircraft - only for the reason than that particular failure was not properly considered in the software design. Pilot skills are then required to solve these problems in flight, often without a checklist. And here's the Yes - When solving these problems, it really helps if you approach this as a team exercise.
PM