I can see that on the larger farms like a industrial gps unit for shorter distances being useful for farmers, the programming shouldn't be so hard to work with that the jd technician need to do all the repairs thoughFarming has become big business, with some of the machines costing more than $250K. And the computers do a lot more than just manage the engine. Some of these machines have GPS, autopilot and network communications capability. They can drive themselves a lot straighter (or follow a preset pattern) than a human being would drive, which can mean time and crop savings worth many thousands of dollars.
I'm completely against the silly licensing games Deere plays, but the electronics are valuable in some applications.
P.S. I own a nearly 40 year old tractor, and I am a huge fan of it's simplicity. But I'm just cutting grass and scraping a driveway.