I dont think it's "cheating", but it's not just AI that's beating the humans. If operators are allowed to change/tune the AI's algorithm, the human opponent should get to replace himself with another player.

or conversely, operators shouldn't be allowed to tweak the AI logic, but if they program the AI to tweak itself, like review its moves and adjust its algorithm automatically, that would be reasonable, then the AI and nothing but the AI is responsible for the victory.