how do I turn off auto slices in illustrator

green are the ones I've created, pink are the auto ones. But mine are only green when selected. so on a busy page you can see how it can get quite confusing as to which are which.
and yes, they are still there when I remove the slice numbers.

Are you trying to hide the slice numbers? If so, go to Preferences, and under Slices, deselect "Show Slice Numbers".

There is not an auto slices function or mode in Illustrator. If you have used the Slices tool, you can hide them in the View Menu (Hise Slices).

To remove slices applied on the artboards applied over the artwork, choose the Slice Selection Tool.