> a book that appears to be AI but is really operated by low-paid humans in 3rd world countries

Uhm actually :) the AI definietly writes the text itself, and takes care of Nell, and senses the environment around itself, but for plot reasons it can’t do voice synthesis. So it employs humans to read up the words. At least until Nell learns to read.

So it is not just appears, but it is in fact an AI, with a veneer of human voice on it.