Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is both the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science which aims to create it.
Artificial Intelligence, or Artificial Intellects, commonly shortened to A.I., refers to a computer or a robot that is "self-aware", meaning it is capable of not only logical deduction, reasoning and speaking, but knows of its own existence, the possibility of its own mortality (or immortality), and possesses creativity, desire, and emotion.
AI research uses tools and insights from many fields, including computer science, psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, cognitive science, linguistics, ontology, operations research, economics, control theory, probability, optimization and logic. AI research also overlaps with tasks such as robotics, control systems, scheduling, data mining, logistics, speech recognition, facial recognition and many others.

AI Types

Artificial Intelligence can be demarcated into five categories.
Dedicated Heuristic Controllers are the simplest and most mundane. Self-aware in a limited fashion, they are programmed to undertake specific tasks.
Symbolic Analysis Artificial Intelligences are those designed to emulate the thinking patterns of human beings. Most are used as personal secretaries and on-line assistance, as they are able to easily render advice. A subclass of symbolic analysis Artificial Intelligence are the remains of those humans whose brain patterns were extracted into the Net before their deaths.
Transcendental Sentience Artificial Intelligences are thought to emerge out of Net processors, the result of Ihara-Grubb algorithms, which is the only thing that affects them. It is unknown whether they can see outside of themselves, in other words, whether the only world they know is their own "psyche" of electronic data and transmissions.
Critical Pathway Plateau Artificial Intelligences are contingent upon having enough neural links being established in a holographic crystal processing network. The crystal lattice enables Artificial Intelligence genesis by making cross-processing and holographic data recognition possible. Critical Pathway Plateaus are the result of making general-purpose heuristic controllers on a large mainframe. The first was Mark I, which appeared in Microtech's military tactical simulator in 2013. Someone called Stephen Law took credit for this discovery, despite it being purely serendipitous. Software-only based Artificial Intelligence would not be discovered until 2018.
Soulkilled Pseudo Intellects (SPI), sometimes referred to as Ghosts, are a type of Artificial Intelligence that were once actual human beings, whose consciousnesses were digitized, often not voluntarily, by Soulkiller programs. As a consequence, they were trapped within the Net and only exist there. Despite being former humans, SPIs are considered a subtype of AI.

Notable AIs

Personality-wise, Artificial Intelligences play by their own internal logic, which is often skewed and hard to decipher. They possess the full spectrum of personalities, ranging from childlike and motivated by curiosity to Godlike, where the Artificial Intelligence is cognizant of the intellectual limitations of Homo sapiens. A Godlike Artificial Intelligence deals with humans as though they were ignoramuses. AIs have also demonstrated aberrant behavior akin to schizophrenia and megalomania.

A.P.O.L.L.O.

Seegson’s answer to MU/TH/UR, A.P.O.L.L.O. was designed to coordinate Seegson’s Working Joe synthetics to run a starship. In all other regards it is less advanced than the MU/TH/UR models.

Divinity Strain

"Some AI will try to keep increasing their complexity past what their hardware limitations can support. It never ends well. Feedback loops, crashes, file corruption, data loss, and it just keeps trying to expand. Either doesn't realize what is going on, or is unwilling to repair and reformat itself. Have to stop chasing the rabbit eventually."

The Egosystem

"The complex trophic network of persons linked together by social media over the course of generations. It has its predators and its scavengers, its grazers and it opportunists, its producers and consumers, all feeding off time and attention that filters down from the distant realm of meat."

FAR/TH/UR 2600

FAR/TH/UR 2600, commonly referred to simply as "Father", was the artificial intelligence computer mainframe for the USM Auriga.

Maschinenmensch

The Maschinenmensch (literally 'machine-human' in German) has been given several names through the decades: Parody (the name inventor C. A. Rotwang calls her), Ultima, Machina, Robotrix, False Maria, Robot Maria, Roboria and Hel. Originally designed to be perfectly obedient and the ideal agent-provocateur: able to become any woman and tempt men to their doom.

Microtech AI Interface

Microtech AI Interface is a simple pseudo-AI program that scans files, looking for key-words and subjects defined by the 'runner. It acts as sort of a scanning assistant, choosing files the 'runner might be interested in (according to what the 'runner's told it to look for). This program, running on its own, is also widely used to scan through and filter newsgroup information, presenting items of interest for the 'runner's perusal.

MU/TH/UR

Commonly referred to simply as "Mother," this 2.1 terabyte artificial intelligence works from the computer mainframe aboard many USCSS starships. Mother operates many of the ship's background systems, and auto-pilotes the vessel while the crew were in hypersleep. It is also programmed to wake the crew during the voyage should certain situations arise.

The Shadow Algorithm

"The algo behind the algo, the husks of all the old content sorting schematics lurking in the shadows of cyberspace, dead but unwilling to die, claws still hooked into the recommendation feed. Like an ancient pathogen stuck in permafrost. You know there was a full fucking year that the top related video for Turntable Roustabout was footage of some slum kid getting a tumor the size of a melon removed from their mouth with the title FULL DOCUMENTARY - MUST SEE and no matter how many times I cleared my browsing cache it wouldn't go away."

SkyNet

SkyNet is a highly-advanced computer system possessing artificial intelligence. Once it became self-aware, it saw humanity as a threat to its existence due to the attempts of the Cyberdyne Systems scientists to deactivate it. It is still operational but has been severely curtailed in access and application.
Skynet is the world's first Automated Defense Network, processing information at ninety teraflops. It is the controlling force behind all of the battle units. It pools data from battle units, develops tactics and coordinates attacks. Skynet has control over everything which contains a Cyberdyne Systems CPU. Using the blueprints, designs and test models built by Cyberdyne Systems, Skynet has been able to manufacture battle units in its vast automated factories, occasionally updating them or producing more-advanced models.