Mysterious pins on R8 lensmount

[George Huczek <ghuczek@gdipa.Unibase.COM>]

Is Leica planning to come out with autofocus lenses in the near
future? Those mysterious pins inside the R8 lensmount would suggest
that their R&D department might have something planned in the
near future.
   I remember a similar thing happened once with mysterious pins
   on Canon FD lenses, which were being "reserved for future use."
   Of course, nothing was ever developed in Canon's future cameras
   to make use of those mysterious pins. EOS changed everything,
   including the lensmount.
I have been told that autofocus lenses might somehow compromise
the quality of Leica's lenses. Can anyone substantiate this? I
would like to know why or how an autofocus lens per se creates
problems in optical quality. If such a claim about reduced optical
performance in AF lenses can be supported, then wouldn't it be
a mistake for Leica to go in this direction?