You can, most certainly, drive a car without understanding how it works. A pilot of an aircraft on the other hand needs a fairly detailed understanding of the subsystems in order to effectively fly it.

I think being a programmer is closer to being an aircraft pilot than a car driver.

Sure, if you are a pilot then that makes sense. But what if you are a company that uses planes to deliver goods? Like when the focus shifts from the thing itself to its output

Agreed