Even for airplanes and trains, we still have pilots and humans behind the controller with 100% attention.
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_automated_train_system...
But i stand corrected. Guided tracks is hardly a good comparison for this.
That really isn't true. Pilots, in particular, have huge challenges in keeping attention up between take off and landing. Likewise for trains, it turns out if you don't require humans to do anything but watch...it is much harder than if they were actually doing the flying/driving themselves.
The airforce is moving to unpiloted drones, though there is someone at a center to intervene as needed. It is only a matter of time before they decide that cargo can be moved in this way (think: fedex).
The probability of crashing with a plane is extremely low, even factoring in the higher risk of takeoffs and landings. The entire process is coordinated with Air Traffic Control.
Since planes are so safe already and pilots are relatively inexpensive, there's no strong financial incentive to fully automate planes.
But the main reason we won't see planes without pilots is political and related to trust. I think for the same reasons we are less likely to see truly driverless cars.