Just started watching BSG... Question about Cylon Raiders (spoilers Duh!!!)

FYI... this is me nitpicking about the show so if this question is irrelevant please ignore.
So I finished the 5th Episode from Season 1 ... the one where Starbuck rides a Cylon Raider back to Galactica.
So my question is why would the Cylons design a Cylon Raider to even need a pilot that too a semi organic one?
If I was an advanced robotic race... I would have just used a computer to control the Raider that can network to the Cylon mainframes when in range.
It's smarter as it would not have any need for food(or any other nourishment for the organic parts) nor oxygen but only power which is already available to the vessel.
It seems more sensible to me to have organic Cylons to infiltrate the human colony but mechanical or AI Cylons to pilot the Raiders. Has this been shed light on in the future episodes?