Every time we give the AI bonuses, instead of giving the human penalties, aren't we basically saying that the AI sucks?
I hope that we can finally retire the AI bonuses one day. When that happens, increasing the difficulty slider will probably involve decreasing the happiness and healthiness threshholds, increasing the rate at which inflation rises, etc. Maybe certain "tricks" like chop-rushing wonders should only exist starting at Prince or Monarch. Also, maybe we could limit the dagger opening strategy to Prince, minimum. This would allow Noble players to basically play like Noble players, while giving more veteran players (Prince/Monarch) a challenge, as they discover advanced concepts (chop rushing, slavery abuse, etc).
If you can currently win on Immortal or Deity, with Better AI, I doubt you're ever going to truly be challenged by this game. I salute you.
However, for those casual players, currently on Noble - Monarch, I think we can pretty much assume that AI bonuses will eventually be much reduced. On Emperor, Immortal, and Deity, where, traditionally, the obsessive micromanagers and master strategists dwell, I feel much less strong about "no AI bonuses". Perhaps to these folk, only AI bonuses keep them interested in the game, and an "unfair" handicap is called for.
It's my hope that I'll eventually start winning games on Monarch difficulty again, but, failing that, I'm perfectly willing to fall back to a lower difficulty level. My concern is not about my ego (though indeed I have a very large ego) but about pride in the strides taken by the Better AI team. Giving the AI such excessive bonuses as exist today is tantamount to saying that the AI is rubbish. Our AI today is no longer rubbish, and I think we can proudly reduce some of those handicaps.
If we go the opposite way and continue to grant the AI such excessive bonuses, that's fine, too. But I'd prefer to see the difficulty levels adjusted with respect to my ability, rather than the AI's ability to be a thorn in my side.
The beauty of Civ IV modding is that we can all have whatever we want -- given that we have the inclination and motivation. So, hopefully, all can be satisfied.