I think it's the sort of book that new readers of SF can get very enthusiastic about. There's a certain sort of person—male, very linear, STEM-oriented, possibly on the spectrum, not relationship-oriented—who comes across this book and is like YES THIS IS FOR ME. And gods bless them, it sure is: the book is about a guy solving problems with the help of someone else who might as well be a robot. No relationships, none of that emotional feeling crap except for AWESOME, just Competence Porn. Extinction-level threat to humanity? Just give smart people dictatorial authority!

My point is, here, that paranoia is its own reward: consider that this isn't astroturfing or a conspiracy, but rather that this book is suuuuper appealing to a demographic hilariously overrepresented on Reddit.