As I write this article I'm travelling on an Airbus A380-800, one of the most advanced passenger planes in the world but despite the fact we have the technology to operate it fully autonomously airlines still provide pilots and Airbus still build a cockpit. Because they know we are all more comfortable having a human in the loop – even despite the fact that, ironically, real world tests at Heathrow have shown that fully autonomous aircraft are safer and more efficient than their 20th century equivalents. On the other hand UAV manufacturers in the defence industry have no such compulsion about removing the human. Having a human in the loop gives us comfort and a feigned assurance that, despite everything we are still in control. However, in the next twenty years there are going to be fewer and fewer humans in the loop as technologies from Artificial Intelligence to Autonomous Vehicles kick us to the curb.