Perks of automatons
I recently had a small discussion on why it is a bad thing when we can not automate, or script, something. The only argument this person had was if we spend two weeks on automating something that takes 5 minutes that is a bad thing. There are several reasons to automate procedures and saving time is not the main thing.
Time
Even if you take 2 weeks to script something that only takes 5 minutes to do manually it depends on how many times you have to execute that 5 minute task. If it is a couple of times a day then it might not be so handy. You need 12 of them to get an hour saved and then 80 times 12 to get even with the two weeks. Let us say you execute it 5 times a day. That means you have to execute it for 192 days. That is about 6 months. Every time after those 6 months you save an additional 5 minutes. So the remaining 6 months you saved another two weeks of manual labor. That is not that impressive maybe, but that is one task that now automated gave you an extra two weeks of time to do something else. Like optimizing another 5 minute task that gives you more time and so on.
Errors
Another reason to automate something is to reduce the amount of errors. Well actually not reduce. Because if you create an error in the automated script or procedure the error gets reproduced. However the error is consistent across the executions. In contrast with a manually executed task, the error can be introduced at any moment.
Transfer of ownership
It is easier to share a script than it is to share knowledge that only is in your own head. If you write it down that is kind of writing a script only the automaton will be another human. Otherwise you cannot, as far as I know, at will telepathically transfer your knowledge to any one who wants it on demand.
Security
If you write a script that any one can execute, then the problem becomes that anyone can execute it rather than a select few. That is easily remedied as you can shield the script from eyes that do not need to lay on it. Other option is to shield the resources the script operates on. In any case you only have to do either or.
Reproducibility
The property that it is easier to reproduce everything is a nice property. If something new has to be created after a while of not having done so, the time to create it and think about what was needed is minimal at best.
Easier to reason about
It is easier to reason about this process if you can easily see in one overview what the total process is about.
Conclusion
In short there is always an automaton, either it is human that is very poorly programmed resulting in inconsistencies or it is an digital construct that at the very least is consistent.