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I agree with your post. Having said that, autopilot on airplanes is meant to be a "macro," rather than an autonomous flying function (in that they do not replac

I agree with your post. Having said that, autopilot on airplanes is meant to be a "macro," rather than an autonomous flying function (in that they do not replace a human operator; in fact the pilot programs the instructions into the flight computer). Somehow autopilot's meaning was lost in translation, and people interpreted it to mean they don't have to take control when things go wrong. Perhaps the prefix auto- is what's wrong--people think the car will drive itself. Automobiles contain the prefix auto- yet nobody assumes the car is self-driving. Most people understand it to mean gears don't need to be changed manually (not applicable to Tesla since it's single gear and gains full torque).

wbillingsley 10y ago
> Automobiles contain the prefix auto- yet nobody assumes the car is self-driving. Actually, in that regard yes they do -- "auto-mobile" = "moves itself", as in, you don't have to pedal or Fred Flintstone it... > Most people understand it to mean gears don't need to be changed manually No, that'd be "automatic gearbox". As in "Do you drive a manual or an automatic?" So "autopilot" would suggest it does the piloting as well (ie, the stuff the person sitting at the controls -- the common view of a "pilot" -- normally does)