They are the fastest-growing segment of the computer industry, and there is a real need for better ways of programming them. Give me an example. I didn't think so. The main reason your VCR is hard to program is that the software in it isn't too well thought out. But difficulty of use isn't the only problem with today's microcontrollers.
Program bugs can be costly and dangerous.
If the program in your PC crashes, all you lose is time. The main job of a microcontroller is usually to make decisions based on knowledge. Logic programming and related technologies are highly relevant to this. That's in the foreseeable future. They are far too small to run anything but machine language.