Full authority digital engine control (FADEC) has been in use in aircraft since the mid-1980s. Boeing aircraft have a pilot-led design approach and if the commander chooses, he can override FADEC.

Airbus, on the other hand, have a "hard" design approach and have programmed their FADEC to ignore inputs which it "judges" to be harmful or dangerous.

So it depends. The common ground is that much human workload is removed and given over to automation.

FADEC is analogous to fly-by-wire (FBW) or fly-by-light (FBL). Instead of controlling engine performance, FBW controls the entire aeroplane. Here again, Boeing has a "soft" approach, and Airbus has a "hard" approach.

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Note added at 1 hr (2007-06-13 23:31:48 GMT)
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As to the wording "full authority" (mostly without a hyphen in recent usage), it means that the system has authority "by default" (most, if not all, of the time), while human input is either elective, or else required only in emergency.

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Note added at 1 hr (2007-06-13 23:34:38 GMT)
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In other words, yes -- "full authority" means "autonomous," "not requiring human intervention."