bearfoil, computer science and abilities have reached a point where we're starting to ask how big does the computer that exercises judgement need to be. Remember IBM's computer's recent win on Jeopardy over past Jeopardy champions.
I figure by the time I die computers may be making organic intelligence irrelevant. Then we really WILL learn if androids dream of electric sheep.
By the way, you are dead on about too much autopilot. If there are going to be pilots at all they should fly the plane much of the time lest they lose their connection with the machine as part of their body. When they lose that, what good is it to have pilots at all?