You assume...doesn't seem terribly likely

Sort of. I said in my post on the subject that I think it probably isn't easier, but there is a high probability that it is, and no one knows exactly how to calculate either, as far as I can tell. So as an alternative under the assumption that CEV is too hard and seed AI is relatively easy, it's a good alternative in my mind - if it's the cohering that's causing the difficulty, then it's a reasonably possible alternative.