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Humans dreamed of heavier-than-air flight since the Neolithic if it's commonality in dreams is anything to go by. Didn't stop the invention of airplanes and rockets.
Pilots are a tiny fraction of the cost of operating an airplane. Most airlines buy models that were developed years or decades before they reach the hand of consumers. Refits and validation of existing control systems are expensive.
We've got self-driving cars in commercial use now, available for the common prole to hire, I can only chuckle ruefully at anyone who finds that less significant, when the set of drivers of motor vehicles so grossly outweighs the number of pilots.
That may or may not be true, until race dynamics develop and they have no choice but to hand control over to their AI, initially with rubberstamping that will only get more minimal and eventually non-existent. The alternative is being rolled by opponents who do, with the only saving grace being the possession of nuclear weapons as a fuck-you button. Notice how drones are utterly dominating modern conflicts?
Line, meet the blank space to the right and top of you.
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