Well, that's more or less how it works today. Airline pilot's job is basically hours of boredom punctuated by minutes of terror. Computers do most of the work,

Well, that's more or less how it works today. Airline pilot's job is basically hours of boredom punctuated by minutes of terror. Computers do most of the work, pilots are there for takeoffs and landings (which could be automated) but more importantly for when things really go wrong. Airline pilots flying scheduled flights (Part 121) are in constant communication with the dispatcher on the ground. Dispatcher is trained to pretty much the same standard as pilots and helps with the planning, safety and can help with workload during flight. Having all three in place is probably why airline flying is so safe these days. On the other hand, I could see freighters (e.g. likes of FedEx fleet) fully automated in the near future (5 years? less?)