They could react a lot better through the daily reminders that happen over the course of a flight, when it wasnt automated.
90% of forget most of what we are taught within a couple of days of being told.
It’s easy for people that aren’t pilots to second guess and just say “just turn off the autopilot” or “U.S. pilots wouldn’t let that happen”.
Each malfunction is different and what might be a minor issue at 30,000’ can turn deadly when it happens at 200’ on takeoff and you’ve only got seconds to figure it out before you hit the ground. A lot of things factor into how something like that will turn out. “Just train them better” isn’t the answer to a system that malfunctions during critical phases of flight and puts the aircraft in jeopardy, fixing the airplane is the answer. You don’t want an airliner that needs Chuck Yeager to fly, you want one that can be safely operated by mediocre pilots having a bad day because statistically half of your pilots are below average.