While it doesn’t touch on AI at all (that I remember, I think there is some basic ship AI but it’s not a major plot point and it never “talks”) the Honor Harrin

While it doesn’t touch on AI at all (that I remember, I think there is some basic ship AI but it’s not a major plot point and it never “talks”) the Honor Harrington series is “Horatio Hornblower in space” and I highly recommend it. Also I love the Zones of Thought series and The Culture.