Automation is not bad per se. What I mean is that there must be an opportunity for human override at all levels of automation (and as seamless as possible) in case of machine failure. It does not deny that it could be done by one pilot only, or half a pilot or even somehow a remote human intervention.

When designing a critical system such as an aircraft, you must include human authority into it. No technology will ever be 100% foolproof. This is not a stance against technology, automation or innovation, it's a matter of concept : most of systems (and aircraft in particular) are human-machine systems.

You cannot design an unoverrideable automatic mechanism. Think of how you can appreciate the capacity of full control over your computer and your OS (happy OpenBSD user here, for the record).