I for one am happy that the AI is capable of winning.

You got a message that the AI was close to winning, you chose to ignore it and then the AI won. Isn't that how the game is supposed to go?

I wish games nowadays were harder... we might actually have to consider utilizing strategies when playing if we faced a challenge. Finding a way to stop another faction from winning while they are situated very far from your own empire is a good challenge. Just doing your own thing every game, regardless of what the others are up to, is not.