Scrub Puller, you have an excellent point there. With all the modern technology and attention to creature comforts we have lost a key component to running equipment in general, and with that, the demand to pay attention.
I recall not so long ago running open cab equipment in the winter and paying close attention to the curtains, having reversed the fan, to somehow remain comfortable throughout the day. Or, the joy on running a cable dozer when the clutches were perfectly adjusted. The pleasure of having run an entire week without having to re-thread cable in the DW 15s and DW 20s. The satisfaction of having caught a DW 20 perfectly shifting from 6th to 2nd on a 19A D9 with just the slightest kiss to the stinger.
Even when we were doing more mondane tasks there was enough physical activity required that falling asleep was never a problem.
Admittedly I have nearly fallen asleep while loading haul trucks during mass excavation projects. With climate control, music, low decimal cabs, etc. relaxation comes way to easy. Nowadays we are miffed if we have to clean our windows because of thirty drops of rain and dust. As John C. mentioned this will all be done as the drones are flown pretty soon. Somebody a half a world away will be operating equipment with a video game type controller, or worse, the computers will be operating everything.
Fortrunately my company is involved in stream channel construction and restoration, and though GPS is an aid, it is hard to imagine when it will ever be cost effective to perform this work from a remote location. Besides, who will shovel out tracks at night when it is well below zero and you have been working in the water and ice all day.
Sorry, I got off on a tangent here, but Scrub Pullers comments struck me as poignant (pretty good word for a dirt mover from Idaho eh?).