Hi Steve,
1. as stated in the rules section the opponents can be anything from bacteria to solar systems, so humans are acceptable.

2. Yes it is expected if the enemy/opponent is the computer that some kind os AI be implemented. It does not have to be anything as complicated as Neural Networks but something that makes the game fun and challenging.

3. The game can be networked. As there will be more than 1 judge, we should be able to test this out.

4. Convincing duelling AIs would be nice but is not essential. The emphasis is on one player against another player or against another AI controlled entity, rather than 2 AI's battling it out. There has to be some kind of interaction.