This will be done more and more until the first crash. Then everyone will freak out and everything will be grounded. The engineers will point out that statistically the flights done this way were safer ( 1 million miles were flown by AI in the last 3 years with only one incident. The same done by commercial pilots would have caused 3.5 incidents!)

Then other incidents will be dredged up. Some won't be actual incidents, some won't be the fault of the AI, and some will be because a human overrid AI control. However, the public will firmly be on the side of only humans should fly planes. Laws will be drafted. Then loopholes for "drones" will be made. A decade later these loopholes will be large enough to fly a 737 through.

No one will remember why they were put in place in the first place, but one political party will be firmly against removing the laws. It will take another generation for them to finally be removed, and by that point computers will be so far integrated with humans that biological humans might be banned from flying under the law if things didn't change.

Hopefully, people will look back on this and say, lol, no, that post was edited in 2035, but good try.

Anything will be done to address “shortages” other than paying fairly

Cocaine delivery just got a lot easier and cheaper

Adequate for cargo flights, not happening any time soon for passenger flights. Aviation safety is very strict and slow to change.

To address the pilot pay, in my own opinion I think that flying is reasonably paid. Most entry level jobs (in my area) range between 70-90k. This is comfortable for the most part and above all common jobs.

The main issue for me is the training costs. I would still be headed towards the aviation industry if I wasn't held back by the financial debt that I would incur.

Tesla autopilot for airplanes. What could possibly go wrong.

I don't want to fly with an automated pilot. I want someone with skin in the game.

I have an uncle that quit being a pilot because being a trucker paid much better. I not stating an opinion, just a fact. Do with it what you will.

So, basically just a really big drone?

Not a single Terminator 2 quote. I am disappoint.

Or, you know, just pay pilots more.

Never going to happen

You know what else could fix the pilot shortage?

Decent wages and much lower training costs.