Since the early 1940's engineers were looking for ways to have an autopilot so pilots wont have to work as hard in flight. Today's environment has the most sophisticated type of autopilot & automation. We have airplanes today that could land itself in the worst of weather. I flown a falcon-900 simulator the other day that took us down to an approach of 0/0 visibility in fog. Very impressive! Todays passenger's especially those who suffer anxiety about flying would be amazed at the technology in aviation. In fact, the airplane I fly the MD-80 has autoland feature, but my airline doesn't used it because its expensive to operate, maintain, & train crews. You will find a lot of airlines opt out using it for the same purpose. The weather doesn't get that bad that often to justify needing it. Oh well.