I think, implemented moderately and proportionally, AI pilots could be useful to the game and gameplay.
I, like others, have read that some will quit the game if it happens. Oddly enough, from my experience in the game/arena, those same players who say they would rather quit that fight AI, are the same ones who you see day after day after day, avoiding human opposition, and going to empty sectors/bases to face off against...........guess what? The in game AI defenses!
Doesn't matter what side/country you are on..........you'll see a player or a group of players heading to a sector with no enemy dar bar rather than seeking to engage the enemy. Their reasons are predictable, but all point back to the same thing: Avoiding opposition in order to achieve "success".
It's not a simple matter and won't have a simple solution.
It's HiTech's game and sandbox and all that.......I don't envy him if and when the time comes that he feels he has to make changes. I love the game, but it's become stagnant in my opinion the past few years. Introducing changes to spice up gameplay and challenge the older player base might be what the game needs. I haven't logged into the arena in quite a while, simply because I feel the gameplay is the same ole same ole almost every time.
I'll keep my subscription going, who knows, changes might come along that make the game interesting for me again.
Until then, I read the BBS daily, might log in now and then to see if anything meaningful has changed.
