The way you formulated your message just made me realize that we got somehow duped into accepting the term "model" (as in "scientific model") as a valid word for this AI stuff. A scientific model has a theoretical foundation and specific configuration parameters.

The way current AI is set up, you can't even reliably adjust the position of the sun.

I wouldn't consider the word "model" to be too precious. It does not have an expectation of fidelity in general.

Also, of course: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_models_are_wrong