I don't know what time or money constraint you're working with, development being slower without AI means little to me, the parts of the game that use AI right now are purely detrimental to the game, so I don't see the point of development being faster if its to end up with a significantly worse product
Regardless, a disclaimer that the current build of the game uses AI would have been much appreciated, ultimately that is where the root of the problem is, being upfront about it would have caused a lot fewer headaches for everyone involved