As the world gets faster, automation is even more important. How else can you keep up with all the data you need, the tests you need to run, etc..
But, like with all things, moderation is key. Knowing what to automate and when is vital to your success. Especially in data science, sometimes less is more.
I shot a short video with some of my main ideas on the subject. Check it out.
Automation is one of the last steps you should attempt in any business process. It comes once you're confident in an ability and are able to move to bigger problems. And, the secret to knowing when to utilize automation is data; specifically, the metadata created by your processes. That metadata can help you assess whether you can automate it, and if so, for how long can it be automated before you must re-evaluate and update.
Often, as you're getting started, less is really more, because while artificial intelligence is cool, artificial stupidity (or automated inefficiencies) is scary.