Did a cursory search and didn't find an answer, so at the risk of hell raining down on me, I'll ask the question.
Was getting used to the Vasari in a game and had the non-phase lane travel feature rear it's ugly head. The pirates were the first to travel outside and the AI started to chase them until they were half-way to another planet. Didn't sink in for a while, kept seeing pirate ships in a planet list (right-side triangle) but when I zoomed in I didn't see any (thought I found a new bug!!!). When I saw AI ships heading out, I finally woke up to the fact that the pirates were chasing trade ships and the AI was chasing the pirates between planets. Later I found my AI chasing trade ships out of the gravity well, so it seems that once it starts everybody starts doing it.
Devs still need saves?
pek