In Excession, on multiple occassions, the Minds literally say that humans are inferior and ultimately don't matter; and there isn't a single human in the loop a

In Excession, on multiple occassions, the Minds literally say that humans are inferior and ultimately don't matter; and there isn't a single human in the loop anywhere, even in dealing with the most important event in history of the Culture, everything is decided by the Minds. Even killing a human accidentaly in the crossfire of a secret scheme (Gestra) is alright. Again though, the situations described are the most extreme and special, and ordinary lives are lived out in bliss and peaceful coexistence. I don't view the Minds as dystopian control-freaks, I'd be happy to let them be in charge of the universe while living out a life within the utopia they create; I can't imagine humans creating something better - most probably it'd be much worse, more like the Klingon Empire (or even the Terran Empire, maybe) than the Culture or United Federation of Planets.