If you are using Subgame2, then yes, you need a bot.
However, the idea in itself is so large I don't think it would be worth doing for a Subgame2 zone. ASSS on the other hand could be a different story.
This is why: if you do it on Subgame2, EVERY player in the arena (or all Public arenas) will get update packets on the settings.. because settings are stored client-side. If you do it on ASSS, ASSS can update individual players before they respawn in a new ship, rather than updating mass populations (in which 95% to 99% of that effort will be wasted for only a potentially small handful of respawning players).
The point of this idea would be to implement a greater degree of "realism," as well as to create a dynamic, fluid-like gameplay that changes based on various factors (possibly even including economics).
Imagine having a ?buy menu just like in Subgame2. Imagine there being a service station (like a space station) around the map. Imagine the map being 3x3 in size (three regular sized maps on top, three regular sized maps below top, and three regular sized maps at bottom -- ASSS would load the correct map when a player reaches the edge of a map). Imagine that there would be economics, like the stock market, that influences the prices of things in the ?buy menu. Imagine that no two ships will have the same speeds/afterburners (in real life -- one car will always be faster or slower than its clone). Etcetera -- keep imagining along these lines.
You could be a lone pilot. You could be a squad of pirates. Whether lone or squad, you could have a personal agenda to conquer sectors (like in Planet Side), or go after loot, ... conquest, defense, offense, merchants..