Bravo - RAT5 - spot on!
"I've noticed over the past 30 years that the more 'safeguards' are put in place the more they become relied upon"
I think there's another aspect of this reliance - less attention to the issue, since "George" has it. The automation may work well, within its limitations, engendering "blind trust" as you put it, but inattention born of honest experience that the automation "always works" is hard to overcome. Help Captain Sullenburger!
Cali was also a case that since the pilots were not giving position reports, the actual progress of the flight was not readily on their minds in any detail. Again the navigation system doing its (limited) job very well and when the unanticipated change of plan occurred, the fact that the pilots were not had its sad consequences. This is real human factors, I'm afraid, and we need to design flight deck automation with that in mind.
So, perhaps the automation, where it can really help, should be used, but we need to design it so the pilot's head and hand must still be engaged.