Rubbish. Pilots are subconsciously suckered into less monitoring by a system that works perfectly 99.9% of the time. That's why all these LOC accidents/incidents are occurring; pilots have been forced out of the loop. I'd be disappointed if you don't realise it's happening to you, right now, Oakape. And yes, I do realise that is our job, but the reality is...
If pilots are 'subconsciously suckered into less monitoring' it is because they are not trained correctly, or lazy, or unmotivated, or undisciplined or lacking in airmanship. Or a combination of all of those things.
The automatics are an AID, not a pilot. And any pilot who gives that level of control over to the automation will eventually find themselves in a bad place.
The pilot flys & the automation assists him/her in that task to reduced workload. The autopilot/auto-throttle system is not pilot #3, who can completely take over from you & allow you to completely focus your attention elsewhere.
The auto-throttle in my flight deck does not have any say in where it positions the thrust levers. I decide where they should be & if the auto-throttle is not smart enough to have put them there, I do it manually, by either over-riding temporarily or by disconnecting the auto-throttle all together.
The reality is that people have got lazy & think they can have a cool job where they don't have to pay attention or do any work. Lazy operation where the autopilot goes in shortly after gear up until fully configured & stable at 500' has led to this.
Pilots have not been forced out of the loop, they have willingly removed themselves from it & the automatics have simply allowed it to happen. It is human nature to enjoy the good times & not think about the future. To not concern themselves with the eventual degradation in skills, knowledge & ability. High levels of enthusiasm for the job will lead to the levels of discipline & airmanship required to ensure that this does not eventuate. Unfortunately enthusiasm is in short supply in the industry these days. The profession has been attacked in many ways over the years.
The final layer of protection is respect for the seriousness of the job. Operating complex equipment in a dynamic & challenging environment requires people to respect it, if it is to be accomplished safely. The problem here is that these days no one seems to have any respect for anything & certainly not their job.
As for 'rubbish', I will just have to disagree with you on that.