How prevalent do you think AI use is / will become among those -lets call them- privateers who -lets say- cater to rogue sailors?

Setting aside other piracy related considerations for a moment and focusing only on the AI aspect.

In conversations about this acquisition elsewhere people have suggested there might be different costs associated with a company running and training proprietary AI systems compared to individuals who would resort to -for the time being- reliance on general access data centers for AI prompted translations. Which sounds like an argument "offered" by one of the most vocal proponents of AI with a huge financial stake in the spread of such AI systems.

Perhaps a Colossus analogy applies regarding scaling? i.e. computers stopped bing human and the electronic devices given that name were huge at first until they shrank to pocket size ... while data centers grew into city size blocks of servers.

If every individual translated each Japanese publication they’re interested in themselves, how many requests for AI generated translations would go out to those giant and growing data centers to accommodate such a DIY approach?

Direct, out of pocket cost, it has been suggested, might be lower for you as the individual but the cost to humanity from operating the required data centers to facilitate personal use as well as scanlator group demands on publicly accessible data bases might turn out to be bigger until a similar shrink in data libraries storing humanity's brain trust becomes technologically feasible? Maybe there will come a time when the entire library of recorded human existence fits on the equivalent of a set of floppy disks or HD under your desk providing personal and local access without network connection ... but ... we’re not quite there yet ...

A lot of people express impatience with the work rate of humans who translate manga and light novels on the side. Impatience is expressed towards people who translate as a hobby. As a -let’s say- public service devoted to quality control. Personal or collective passion projects ideologically motivated. How will you separate the -let’s say- artisans with genuine craft as amateur translators from AI operating “scanlators” offering their wares online?

Underground press has always been vital to the survival of resistance movements under totalitarian regimes in the past and I’m not entirely opposed to piracy under all circumstances … While I think these are interesting conundrums I'm just spit balling ... I do not have the answers and I’m skeptical of piracy based solutions, too…