The December IEEE Spectrum had an article discussing fully automated (pilotless) commercial flight. I wish I could say that the article was neutral and just stated facts, but it seemed biased to me.
I spent 4 years in the USAF working on F-16 avionics, which at the time was one of the most advanced avionics platforms in operation (and it was far from perfect). I could go on for several pages about why I think it is a bad idea to pull pilots out of commercial cockpits….
The bottom line is that lives are at stake. Full automation of flight from takeoff to landing is no problem, it is almost there today. But there is very, very little to gain and so much at risk by removing pilots from the cockpit. Why even have the discussion?