In this episode, a listener asks Prof. Banissy 'Why do we go into or on autopilot?'.   

Prof. Banissy says: 

"It’s a real common thing for many of us, it largely links to our brain trying to conserve energy."

Prof. Banissy goes on to speak about how conserving energy such as our attention, which is limited, allows us to focus and help's us with daily tasks. He explains:  

"What the brain tries to do is make predictions, it tries to make repetitive taks, it tries to automate them, because when it's doing that it can exert more effort".