Maybe I could've worded it a bit better, the question is not whether forums such as HN will continue to exist, but whether/how it is possible to keep them "human", and also what appropriate definitions of that could be.
Online discussion forums have never been "human". You can rightfully point out that in the past human operators were required to keep the software operational as an implementation detail, and that we may be reaching a point where they are no longer an implementation need, but it is just that: An implementation detail. An alternative implementation does not really change anything. The medium is the message.
I guess the question body wasn't clear enough, because that's not what I meant. My bad if so - I just rephrased the part in parentheses to make it clearer.
I do not find a lack of clarity, but rather a misunderstanding of the medium. Human discussion takes place where you find humans. Online discussion forums are not human, but rather software. The entire appeal is that it isn't "human". It is something else entirely. A change in how the "black box" is implemented under the hood does not alter the medium itself.
"The entire appeal is that it isn't "human"" - yes, part of the appeal is perhaps that the medium isn't human, but also that the message IS still human, right? And that is the combination I'm talking about.
If the medium isn't human then the message cannot be human. The medium is the message.