It was considered a great step forward in civil aviation when the first fully automated flight was ready for its maiden transcontinental journey.  Bigwigs of every sort were shown to their seats and served a champagne cocktails by cyborg hostesses, while hundreds of airline employees waved from the runway.  Suddenly, the
engine snapped on and the plane made a perfect takeoff into the cloudless sky.

A silky, mechanical voice came over the speakers.  “Welcome aboard this historical flight, ladies and gentelmen, and simply press the call button if you would like more champagne to be served by one of our robot attendants. Even those of you who may have been anxious about flying in the past can now relax in the knowledge that this
flight is free from the possibility of human error.  Every aspect –altitude, air pressure, course setting, weather conditions — is continuously monitored by state-of-the-art computer circuitry, so virtually nothing can go wrong, go wrong, go wrong,…