I wouldn't be so pessimistic. Think back to the early 90ies when Airbus management claimed that flying an A320 was so easy that even their executives' secretaries could do it easily. They were (and still are!) proven wrong. "Pilot error" and loss of situational awareness are in no small part induced by new technology. Trying to design the human element out of the cockpit will not get you less "human error" and related accidents, but more.
UAVs suffered a tremendous accident rate in the beginning, btw. One source (
http://www.resilientcognitivesolutio...wordpress/?p=9) speaks of an accident rate that is eight times higher than for conventional aircraft.