Q on experience

[PvK]

Sounds like it is simply training and possibly also Culture and Racial Aptitude. If you are playing against a non-psychic AI then it is probably Cultural and Racial, since the AI only trains its ships and fleets by accident.

TDM Mod Pack makes the AI more likely to max Cultural and Racial mods out the way human players of the unmodded game do.

Yes Neural Nets require an experienced (or trained) ship. It's also a unique (from ruins) tech area.

PvK