IMO, AF447 is the logical consequence of the prevaling “gear up, autopilot on” operating procedures on the line. IOW pilots get very little time “hand flying” - that is in direct control of the aircraft - in the simulator or on the line. Primarily this is because the autopilot systems can fly the aircraft more efficiently than the pilots.
In today’s ultra-competitive passenger business that means a smoother ride and fuel money saved. But it also means, IMO, the pilot flying is “out of the loop”, watching “George do it” when his brain ought to actively making corrective inputs so if/when “George” decides to pack it in seconds/minutes aren’t wasted trying to “get back in”. Based upon the flight data, these pilots never did.
There are a host of other technical aspects to this accident dealing with systems failures and the hard/software operations of the Airbus I’ll leave to many others far more qualified than I to opine upon. >PS
There is a cute story about future aircraft, re automation.
There will be only two occupants in the cockpits of the future, a dog and a pilot. The pilot is there to feed the dog. The dog is there to bite the pilot if he touches anything.