[QUOTE=Lee Shore;190859]Dude…what are you smoking? Airliners have triple back ups and can fly on their own with zero maintenance even possible underway but are still managed by flight crews.[/QUOTE]
I quit smoking years ago. It is not as difficult as it is made out to be, but it take “will-not power” (I.e. I WILL NOT LIGHT UP THAT CIGARETTE)
Why don’t plane fly themselves, although they already have the systems available to do so? Probably because there are rules and regulations in place to stop it from happening YET. Besides, would passengers accept a pilot free cockpit, although is it presumed to be safer? (No suicidal Pilots, for one and no Pilot errors)
Likewise with Cruise ships, as mention here earlier. You could not have an autonomous Cruise ship, if for nothing else; who would host the Captain’s Dinner, and how do you get the privileged seat at the Captain’s Table, if there are no Captain?
This could, as suggested, be solved by having an actor playing the role of Captain.(I believe we have seen one in action. Unfortunatelly he was also able to give orders)
You could still have an Automated ship, with a Deck and Engine staff parading around in their nice white uniforms to make the “guests” feel safe. (Maybe they could be actors too?)
As far as the hotel part is concerned, there is already an automated Bartender on a Cruise ship, but to go to the extent of having frozen TV dinners, microwave ovens and self-service may not work too good. (PS> That “Bartender” is said to mix a mean Martini)