The circle keeps turning; but here we go.
We the pilots like to think we can handle the problem when HAL goes AWOL, but some can and some can't depending on who you work for, their training & culture, and your own attitude as well. The pax sure as heck expect us to be able to handle it; they also expect us not to screw up in our interaction with HAL. Either way they expect us to be in charge & capable.
The airlines want a safe & efficient operation that takes care of the pax and makes a healthy profit without scaring anyone. So the techies design ever more all singing all dancing a/c that have so many back-ups and 10 times more reliability than ever thought necessary. They then sell these to the nervous & greedy airline managers who then decide that the best way is to use all the toys and keep the pilots dump and be simply airborne train drivers. If reliability holds up its part of the deal then case proven. The pax are none the wiser and they travelled A-B in total bliss; that is until the pilot is called upon to perform and does not fulfil their side of the bargain. And whose fault was that? Was it really pilot error or something more obtuse and dare I say it, "not to be spoken about even in whispers." Could it have been a corporate culture failing? OMG, how could that be? They passed their 6 monthly tick in the box checks from yester-year. They were legal. Can't be our fault; must have been the sharp end jet jockeys.
It's very rare the AAIB/NTSB points a finger directly at corporate company culture as a root cause of an accident. They often say the crew had not had a specific training that might have helped them avoid this particular accident. You can't think of every eventuality, but if the training is broad, in depth, comprehensive and the crews are well practiced in the science of a/c handling, systems knowledge & management and the black art of airmanship then they will stand a solid chance of coping with many surprises. (The beneficial results of that have been demonstrated in some cases, but that trait has not been heralded as an industry-wide requirement.)
Sadly that training philosophy is no longer the case and many operate to minimum standards and quotas. The techies are left to come up with the best & cheapest solutions. That's what sells a/c.