Boy was made by bad guy and has a pirate AI teacher

It’s a sci-fi series written by a female author that died a while ago(10 to 15 years). I came across it on a podcast and can’t find it now. Near future where the “father” is the supreme leader or architect of the society. Most citizens are pleasure seekers and don’t know how anything works beyond simple controls. The protagonist is genetically engineered to be tall and smart. He has an AI teacher that looks like a pirate. The short story was him getting money by smuggling sugar or sweats in the UK