Maybe this is a personal preference for me. I don't like the seperation of ideas and culture based on language. I feel stuck in the anglo sphere, but I don't to see what's happening in the bubbles of the internet which speak in other languages too.
If auto translating happens on the backend, you don't even notice the other person isn't speaking your language, but if you post an article in a language I don't understand then yeah I would still need a translation extension to understand the article.
I should also recognize that not everyone cares about what the other langugage bubbles are up to, and are perfectly happy within their own bubble.
Maybe one day a site will implement some multi-language culture.