The response I had earlier in the thread is absolutely applicable to this. It doesn't matter. At. All. How the operations work inside the cockpit of an airplan

The response I had earlier in the thread is absolutely applicable to this. It doesn't matter. At. All. How the operations work inside the cockpit of an airplane. What actually happens in an airplane is 0% important to the conversation. What actually matters is the public at large's perception of the term "autopilot" and their perception of the term "co-pilot". If the public perceives "co-pilot" as being less functional than "autopilot" then it does not matter at all that in aviation a co-pilot is actually more capable than an autopilot.