The biggest fallacy around these parts is that the AK will run if you bury it in the dirt for 87 years and the AR can only run if you baby it.
If you use this gun for the punching of paper versus the preservation of life, then only lube it up when it has a failure if that is what you are in to. Who cares.
If you use either gun for protection of life, then maintenance is important. Maybe, MAYBE, the AK will be more forgiving to improper maintenance. I would never bet my life on this though, especially given how easy it is to clean and lubricate properly. Hell, skip the clean part and only lubricate. It takes 30 seconds for either gun.
Keep it wet enough, whether it is an AK or an AR. I can never understand how peoples' time is so valuable that 15 mins worth of maintenance every 4 months is like pulling teeth but posting on ARFCOM for 5 min/day about 'proper' cleaning is acceptable...