kcockayne,
& yours being one where you are prepared to totally trust in technology.
Well now, lets not be rash!
I think we have more in common than you believe. Given the opportunity to do GMC from the old tower at Heathrow, with paper strips, and no A-SMGCS I'd bite your hand off, especially if it was bandboxed and really busy. That was FUN!
A simpler time.
Technology, and the demands of the industry, have moved on. I think we have just about reached the limit of ATCOs being in 'total control' in terms of capacity, and to keep on that upward curve, tool support is the only way forwards. An ATCO remembering the 6 UK wake categories and the separations is feasbile, but Static-Pair Wise separation, with a 96x96 matrix of individual aircraft pair separations to the nearest 0.1nm is beyond anyone's comptence.
I have raised, and still raise, issues with new projects, equipment and procedures. That's why I started getting involved in them.