Good sci-fi is about humans, bad sci-fi is about technology.
You're right though, no fighter pilots in space and no stealth in space are two lessons the entertainment industry has been slow to learn.
The Expanse (which is amazing—go watch 3 eps) strikes a good balance: pilots work in tandem with ship software the fly; they're more like navigators with AI helmsman. And it looks like gunners are prioritizing targets for the ship's AI to shoot, not swinging the turrets around by hand like Skywalker & Solo in A New Hope.
This is why I've always loved the Expanse series of books and the TV show. AI is there, but its not up front and central. In fact, its never really even mentioned in any of the books. It's just treated as ambient expert system software in the background. It's just there and not discussed.
You're right though, no fighter pilots in space and no stealth in space are two lessons the entertainment industry has been slow to learn.
The Expanse (which is amazing—go watch 3 eps) strikes a good balance: pilots work in tandem with ship software the fly; they're more like navigators with AI helmsman. And it looks like gunners are prioritizing targets for the ship's AI to shoot, not swinging the turrets around by hand like Skywalker & Solo in A New Hope.