I find this discussion a tad amazing.
How many of us have had a PC, laptop or mobile completely freeze: unresponsive to all inputs and only able to be brought back to life after a physical reboot? How many of us have experienced severe glitches after software upgrades?
Would YOU really fly in an aircraft where the possibility exists that the systems could freeze and you and your fellow passengers then have absolutely no control over your assured death — possibly with a few hours to prepare for the inevitable?
It's a bit like your local swimming pool dispensing with lifeguards as no-one has ever drowned. Yes, there would be great wage savings to be made, but would the public support such a measure? I think not.
Also, the analogy to automated trains is surely mistaken. Being land-based, they can only crash into other land-based objects — situations which can be managed by computers (though not 100%). What they don't have to face is gravity, which all aircraft routinely defy, but which nevertheless is constantly capable of the last laugh...
In my view, civilian pilots will ALWAYS be a necessity, even if it merely a matter of being present.
