Actual effective managers do much more than
"gathering information from folks below him, distilling it down and reporting that to people above him."
And how many managers are effective vs. only information funnels?
1) understand what success means for their area 2) assemble a team and remove roadblocks for them to achieve 1.
I have to assume some of it serves a social, rather than practical purpose, like having people re-assure them that projects are going well. If that's the case, automation may just not make sense.