It kind of parallels the LaGuardia crash, where indeed as you say humans were running the show but automated alarm systems failed (more likely were completely lacking).
It isn’t automated in the sense you may be thinking. The signalling is still done deliberately, but say a path requires two signals and two sets of points to be set, the signaller can do it all as one interlocked set rather than doing the individual items.
The recent tom Scott video led me to believe it was only automated as a backup, everything else is done by humans as the first line of defense.
It kind of parallels the LaGuardia crash, where indeed as you say humans were running the show but automated alarm systems failed (more likely were completely lacking).
It isn’t automated in the sense you may be thinking. The signalling is still done deliberately, but say a path requires two signals and two sets of points to be set, the signaller can do it all as one interlocked set rather than doing the individual items.