I don't think this will be same as speed control. I think the majority of drivers didn't really enjoyed handling the throttle manually. So, when perfect pass came out, I think most people really wanted it. It was also the case where speed control isn't really that tough of a technical problem, so the solution wasn't terribly expensive to develop. I know people will say it was expensive, but I think compared to self-driving technology, it's going to seem cheap. I'm going to ignore the transition to Zero Off because that's an unfortunate situation where technology change and patents caused what is hopefully a "one of a kind" misstep in the transition. But I think factoring that in, skews the fundamental question did people really want speed control in boats. Which I think the majority did.
Self-driving is a much harder problem to solve. Hence the ultimate solution will likely involve a lot of technology. Personally, I don't think you'll ever have self-driving technology for boats that approaches human drivers without leveraging computer vision technology just like self-driving cars. That will also make it possible to handle floating courses which I think will be necessary for a solution to be economically viable. I think it'll also be required to handle situations where something enters the course. Such as a kayak. I think without this, liability will be an issue.
As others have already pointed out, the driving outside the course in many cases is just or more important than inside the course. And again, I think for a solution to be economically viable, that will have to be handled as well.
I think it’s at best 50/50 that self-driving boat technology will ever become the norm. I think the solutions, that will be good enough to be worthwhile, will end up being too expensive to allow for widespread adoptions given the size of the boat market. Also keep in mind that speed control applied to the entire boat market. Wakeboarders needed speed control just as badly as slalom skier. This technology will only apply to an even smaller market of just 3-event boats.
I think if self-driving boat functionality does become the norm, it won't be developed by someone specifically for boating. Just like with engines, it'll likely come from the automotive industry. There simply isn't the revenue potential to support the R&D cost for truly ready for market solution to be developed natively. You'll need to use already developed technology re-purposed from the auto industry to make the economics work IMO.