The root meaning of “auto” is self or spontaneous. Yet the automobile is not self-moving, autonomy is not self-will (since we are externally shared and motivated), and automatic always requires intervention.
“Auto” is more of a matter of degree. We hand over control to processes that promise freedom, yet more often cleverly disguise long-distance reliance (oil, software, labor, or ideology), which automates us in trade for a “convenience.”