The AI seems to be getting a bad rap, both in this thread and elsewhere. The AI is what determines how an NPC reacts and behaves after you encounter it. It governs battle tactics, among other things. I don't think the game having a bit tougher AI is a bad thing.
However, the real problem is with the way encounters are generated by the game. The Encounter Generator (which I'll call the 'EG' from now on) is way out of whack, IMO. I have a couple of examples. The most recent for me was an interdiction, which occurred in High Sec space. I'd been living near the edge of the bubble with a medium security system serving as my base. In all the multitude of times I entered and left the system, I'd never been interdicted. Then I went looking for a ship upgrade. The first High Security system I entered, I was interdicted by a Master Wanted Asp Scout. I'm a Novice and was flying an AspX, but in exploration mode, and hence not a real match for my attacker. Just to be clear, I had no cargo, not even a cargo bay. And I was interdicted and attacked in high security space just a few light seconds from a starbase. And that after having made many mining trips with millions of credits of metals in a medium security system and not a single interdiction to or from the base.
My second example has to do with mining. Every single time I enter a planetary ring or asteroid belt, and this is in empty space outside the bubble, within less that five seconds, a gang of NPC's appears within sensor range. First time it happened, I jumped back out of the ring and then popped back in in a random location. Another gang appeared. EVERY SINGLE TIME I entered a ring or belt, I was molested by NPC's. This is beyond ridiculous! I could boost away from them out of sensor range and then begin mining, at least until I left a few unwanted minerals behind. Then another group would appear, apparently impossibly attracted by my leftovers. Let me reiterate, this is in unoccupied systems outside the bubble. BTW, it also happens in unoccupied systems inside the bubble. I expect it also happens in occupied systems, but I've been avoiding mining in those. One other thing it does, it makes mining asteroid belts virtually impossible. You enter a belt with a mining ship and get immediately jumped by several NPC's equipped for full combat. You have no choice but to immediately leave.
So, as we can see, it's not the AI itself that's the problem. It's the EG. I'm heading out into the wild with my AspX for some long term exploration, avoiding the nasty EG for a while. It's a shame, because I enoy all aspects of the game - mining, exploring, fighting, trading, mission running, etc. IMO, most encounters with NPC's should be player generated. The exceptions, of course, are when a player enters dangerous systems especially when carrying valuable cargo, or when the player is in either a powerplay or some other conflict situation where combat is expected. Random encounters when the player isn't carrying anything valuable and not looking for trouble should be rare, not something that occurs everytime you enter or leave a system or base. Constantly forcing the player into combat does not make for a fun experience in this kind of game.