This was surprisingly short and awesome! The main character thinks of themselves as an violent, unfriendly, selfish outsider, but they are actually the opposite. They love everyone around them and will sacrifice themselves any chance they get. That was a surprise.

So contrary to what I expected this is a really happy, hopeful book. It's also very exciting with continuous action. The main character's personality is the primary focus of the series and I think it's well done. I don't think you should look at it as an exploration of AI but rather as an exploration of real human neurodivergent experiences. And only good things happen to them. (Okay they get bitten, shot, and crashed, but that's not something they really mind.)

The book is rather light sci-fi. The AI aspect is not serious. The space aspect is not serious. Planetary exploration is not serious. But it's still fun and it makes good use of being set in the future. There are lots of digital systems (drones, cameras, updates) and a lot of "hacking". People can basically hack anything as the plot requires. I don't actually find this entirely unrealistic. Are computer systems today more secure than 20 years ago? I don't think so. It's not a stretch to expect they will be even less secure into the far future.

Another source of plot elements, fun, and commentary on the real world is the social structure of this future. Companies that try to cut costs anywhere they can. When you're exploring an alien planet. With the robots you were contractually obliged to rent.