The issue isn't just telling the AI what to do. It's telling it what to do within a timeframe that doesn't murder turn times and at the same time retains the ability to support mods.
What some players who don't make mods don't understand about the AI in this game is that it is not hard-wired. The AI has to work in a game where the rules can easily be changed, and to do this it is has to independently weigh every unit, building, technology, and terrain feature. It's not just a matter of telling the AI that National College is a good building and you should go there and build that right away because depending on the mod "National College" may not even be a thing or the requirements for building it could be different.
Anyway, I think complaints about the AI at higher difficulties not playing "smarter" rather than with "more cheats" kind of shift the goalpost. AI is an obstacle in this game in the same way that flying turtles and bottomless pits are obstacles in Super Mario World. If Mario falls off a ledge or runs into a spike trap there is only so far an argument about unfair advantages of the AI can go.