multiplayer lobby issues

when attempting to change my handicap in multiplayer, all difficulties show the same stats from the easiest (5 claims, 1x debt multiplier..) however, the handicap does change it just isn't reflected in the lobby when hovering over. Difficulty change works just fine in single player. I own two copies of the game, and this issue is affecting both with completely different platforms so doesn't seem hardware related.

should I be able to adjust ai difficulty or build types? now they are all just the same difficulty and random builds... I imagine just advancing myself to CEO is equal to harder ai... ?

,