I would have agreed that it was coming in 5-10 years. I was one of the firm believers that the public would be all for it so long as a ticket was 20 dollars cheaper. But then two things happened. One was a self-driving Uber killed a cyclist in Tempe. The other was the Southwest incident. Hearing that Captain ask for things like extended final to get configured; asking for medical personnel to meet the aircraft, things like that. You cannot, absolutely cannot, program an airplane to do things like that and keep the passengers safe. And as for the self-driving car blasting the pedestrian, I've heard every argument in the book. But the pedestrian wasn't in a crosswalk! Okay, so what happens when a kid runs out after a ball and the self-driving car doesn't do what it's supposed to do?

My point is, ultimately, the public does not want this crap.