Why is a dark factory the wrong target?#
Because removing human involvement is not the same as removing the need for judgment. Fewer human gates make the remaining ones more consequential, not less: when three checks become one, that one check is now carrying the weight of all three, and it needs better evidence and more time rather than less.
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What is the better goal?#
Autonomy earned per class of work, with accountability intact. That is automation follows trust applied honestly — each class of change gets the autonomy its evidence supports, and the delegation boundary records where that line currently sits and why.
The manufacturing metaphor is worth taking seriously in both directions. Lights-out plants exist, and they exist for products that vary very little. Most software does not look like that.