No, sorry it was somewhat tongue in cheek. It's just that within the simulation, the way a single unit obeys a central planner (not at all, partially, entirely)

No, sorry it was somewhat tongue in cheek. It's just that within the simulation, the way a single unit obeys a central planner (not at all, partially, entirely) is defined by the rules of the simulation, so the rules of the world. So asking if that rule, that authority of the AI over the units is similar to human law, is I think a bit beside the point. It's more akin to the law of physics. It's simply the fabric of that reality. Of course, you could then create a simulation that would try to recreate the same kind of domination as within a human society, but that would be only one kind of simulation, one kind of system, with specific parameters. It would not give much about the very essence of the system itself, only of it within constraints.