Less work today or less work tomorrow?

The problem with "someone makes a request, code changes happen automatically, and all someone else has to do for that to be committed is mash approve" doesn't strike me as a way to create a maintainable code-base.

The changes may even work, and may technically fulfill the request, but the agent cannot know the design intent or process intent. Today there may be a programmer sitting between the request and approval, but what about tomorrow? Might it be a non-technical or barely technical middle manager?