Livastian MAI

Livastian Military AI are an uncommon but prominent subgroup of LAI that were the first type to be manufactured on a large scale. An MAI can be anything from a small fighter plane to a massive aircraft carrier, and at the time of their creation, they had the technological advantage of quicker wits and better understanding of their vessels than their human companions. The same mind that gave them their intellectual advantage, however, also gave them their great sense of compassion.

Basic Information

Anatomy

MAI can take on just about any shape and size, but the one thing they all have in common is, well, they're all military vessels. If it was a vessel used in war, it's an MAI. If it's a conventional robot like an E-20 or ADU-08, then its simply an LAI.
MAI also vary a fair bit by the era of their vessels, which can be placed into three main groups: World War 1's and 2's, Cold Wars, and True Vessels.

WW 1's and 2's

The first group is comprised of any vehicles made during the first two world wars, and they tend to be by far the most rarely seen of the three due to their vessels' age, frailty, and structural disadvantage. A good question to ask is probably, "if these vessels are so inferior to the other two types, why were they ever used in the first place?" Well, the answer to that one is a matter of time and resources. If you ask any MAI of this type when they were activated, the most common answer will be around 1999, only within a year before the war's end. Resources were becoming scarce on both sides - namely metals - and new units needed to be pushed out into the fray fast. This pushed certain manufacturers to look for older, pre-existing vessels to install AI into because it was quicker than tearing them down and making whole new ones. Evidently, they didn't perform as well as their much newer peers, but they were of decent use in areas with few enemy vehicles as infantry support only. As a result of these vessels not being made to house AI or even modern systems, they don't perform as well as their more recent peers in both combat and casual situations. They often have less nerves than their peers, utility arms are only available as detachable apparatus, and their optics violate the structural integrity of their armor.

Cold Wars

The next group consists of any vehicles produced during the cold war, and a lot of the vehicles we're familiar with today. These, then, are of course the second most common of the three groups. No vessels from this time period were made to accommodate AI within their housing, so they tend to be difficult to service as a result of the cramming of internal components. Still, for a while, it was the only option before any models of hardware were produced for such a purpose. They perform well alongside their True Vessel peers as vehicles, but as Individuals, they may have more difficulty manipulating their surroundings since they aren't built to have permanently attached utility arms, they have less nerves, and their optics violate the structural integrity of their armor.

True Vessels

True Vessels are the most recent and technologically advanced vessels of MAI, having been built specially for housing of the AI that will operate them. These vessels have nerves on all body surfaces except wheels, guns, and treads, they have (most commonly) one pair of utility arms that will retract completely into spaces on their sides, and their optics have backing armor that maintains the strength of their outer shells. This group, of the three, is by far the most dexterous and responsive, and is thus the most common type by a vast majority.

Growth Rate & Stages

MAI don't visibly age beyond weathering of their vessel, (which can be easily repaired) but they mature extremely fast due to their incapability to forget things and quick processing power. This makes learning language extremely easy, and a newly activated MAI could be splicing sentences by only a few weeks of age if raised around talkative peers. [To learn about the specifics of language development, you may want to check out [parroting]] An MAI, depending on their amount of exposure to the world, can be considered mature at as young as six to seven years old, and are capable of living as long as 440 years at the best, and 350 at the very least.
When nearing the end of their life, it becomes obvious when they just start to... forget things, as this means that the DNA within their boxes that their memories are stored upon is starting to deteriorate, and the longer time passes after the first signs, it only happens more and more quickly. This manner of Box degradation is most commonly referred to as "core decay." It's seen as inhumane to keep them alive in this stage after so long due to the fact that every other part of them can technically function without the presence of their memories, and eventually, they'd just become an "empty shell." Unfortunately, this means that MAI are incapable of dying naturally, so they must be put down.

Additional Information

Average Intelligence

On average, MAI surpass the average intelligence of a human at about five to seven years of age. As mentioned earlier, the inability to forget things makes learning much easier and faster. More specifically, MAI are considered a Class A intelligence, which can be explained in detail in [grades of AI and robotic intelligence].

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Despite lacking a sense of taste and having a very limited sense of "smell," MAI excel with their superhuman vision and keen sense of hearing. They are also capable of feeling touch at different sensitivities depending on type, (tanks don't feel quite as precisely as planes or other vessels with thinner armor, whom are able to feel things as small as individual pebbles) but can only feel varying pressures, and are thus incapable of feeling pain in the same manner as we do, even if they can differentiate it from regular, non-harmful contact. To go more indepth on the nature of MAI senses and systems, consider looking to [sensory systems and processing organs].
Additionally, MAI have an interesting quirk in that they can read micro-expressions on people. This tends to make MAI come across as particularly emotionally intelligent, when really it's usually just that changes in facial expression are much more obvious to them. Some, though, do like to hone this skill and apply it in either their personal lives or career paths. You might think you have a pretty good pokerface, but usually, MAI can tell.

Fuel Requirements and Sourcing

MAI can run on a variety of fuels. During the third world war, they ran on traditional gasoline, but as time went on, were converted to be able to use more sustainable substances such as plant-based fuel, or even just water or hydrogen. This makes sustaining themselves much easier, and is the main reason feral MAI are so rarely seen in urban areas; they can just find a lake and refuel there.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

MAI are assigned an ID number upon activation that will be used to identify them for the rest of their lives, but many were also given a traditionally human name to go with it: either by assigned crewmates or those that activated them. (Meaning that there are still MAI that legally only go by their IDs) Most units with human names have pretty traditional ones, such as Jack, Charlie, Lynn.. you get the idea, but you also get some that were named after places, brands, or other things that aren't conventional at all, like Fargo, Chevy, Volant, and Cabela.
This all sounds simple enough, right? Well, you might want to consider thinking about how humans go about naming things for another two seconds. One of the strongest factors in considering a name for another human - or even an animal - is to take their birth sex into consideration. Male? Why not something like John, or Michael? Female? Try something like Isabelle, or Amelia. By this point, you may notice the dilemma: MAI are robots, and although they might enjoy playing into the concept of gender, there's no way to know what they'll be until they decide for themselves. And that can take a while.
During the initial conception of MAI, naming conventions were essentially the wild west, and this was compounded by the fact that many crews weren't aware of the extent to which their new AI companions were truly sapient. Anyone trying to name their unit like a human was basically taking a 60/40 (remember, genders were off balance during the war) gamble that their unit would end up male- or female- aligned respectively. There were plenty of crews as well that didn't even have the thought occurr to them that the name should be for a sophont, and would title their vehicles something like "Aphantasia," "Crisco," or "BEERUS GOD OF DESTRUCTION." Good lord.
This inevitable setup for confusion and the variability of the human willingness to give things normal names, is what gave MAI their characteristically curious naming conventions. It's incredibly common for MAI to have names that don't reflect their presenting gender, have two names: their "birth" name and "adjusted name," or have names that are only vaguely inspired by their source material if inspired at all. For example, you can't really be surprised if you ever meet a male-presenting aircraft named Penny, or a female-preseting tank named Randolph. You may also meet an MAI whose name is either Grace or Graves depending upon context. And concerning the more unconventional names mentioned above, plausible adjustments could be "Affie," "Chris," and "Dean."
Although born of cluelessness, True Generation MAI names are seen as interesting and endearing enough that many actually continue to name modern MAI with similar guidelines. As a general rule of thumb, gender connotations with names are often no longer considered, and names based upon abstract concepts are fair game.

Gender Ideals

How  MAI perceive and utilize the concept of gender can vary greatly by the unit. After all, they're robots - they don't exactly need to identify as anything upon the whims of human societal expectations. MAI, however, are mimics by nature, and thus it's actually surprisingly common for them to ascribe themselves to one gender, the other, or at least on some spot adjacent to the spectrum. As a result of both aforementioned reasons, there was actually a time in which male-aligned MAI somewhat outnumbered female-aligned MAI, since there simply used to be more male soldiers that they were raised by. This didn't stop many from ascribing an identity unlike their teams, however - there's a great deal of instances where MAI raised by male-only crews described themselves as women, or both, or neither - who's to stop a tank from calling herself a girl, if she prefers such, anyways? Ultimately, a surpising deal of MAI align themselves somewhere on the gender spectrum since they're simply used to hearing about it, but no one really cares if they don't, either.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

MAI can speak any language they so please if they're willing to put in the effort, but the most common first languages are English, Spanish, Russian or Mandarin Chinese. Additionally, although it's not a first language, the primary language for MAI to one another can sometimes be Clicktone; a language compromised of various clicks and beeps that allows for fast verbal or transmitted communication. This is the most commonly used language among feral MAI as they so rarely come into contact with humans.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

A common custom among MAI is celebrating the day that most of their kind were activated. This is particularly special for American and European MAI because, well, most of them do share the same birthday. A surprisingly large portion of MAI were activated on Dec 31st, 1995, so not only are the birthdays of these units celebrated, but there's also New Year's Eve, so combo holiday!
Other commonly celebrated days are the day of the year that marked the end of the Third World War, and the anniversary of the conception of Livastia.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Relationships between MAI are generally widely accepted within society, as they are capable of feeling romantic attraction and are a very social 'clade,' but in some places, it's not all that rare to find an MAI romantically involved with a human. Of course, humans being humans, there was at one point considerable backlash to the very idea of trans-clade relations - hell, humans at one point could hardly tolerate humans dating each other if they didn't meet the right "traditional" standards! The inevitable passage of time and drastic, distracting changes in society, however, seemed to quell these arguments... shockingly quickly. Aside from the most committed opposition, most have come to terms with the fact that LAI are, apparently plenty intellectual enough to be involved with humans.
Humans pursuing MAI? Seen as generally alright among many humans, albeit sometimes odd. MAI showing interest in humans, however, has actually induced an unusual cultural divide.
Yes, MAI are plenty intelligent enough to consent to a romantic relationship - some throughout history, however, believe that they may be too smart. ...No, seriously. Recalling the grades of AI and robotic intelligence, MAI are actually intellectuallly placed above humans, and although the true disparity is unknown, some MAI find themselves disconcerted enough by the gap that it doesn't feel morally sound to pursue intimate romantic relations with them. In the same way that humans may simultaneously recognize the intelligence of other great apes while knowing that tryinf to engage with them would be incredibly awkward, there are some MAI that percieve humans in a similar way. Just as many other MAI, however, don't exhibit much concern in the theoretical distance of this hypothetical gap, and embrace the fact that their minds are modeled after humans to lend to their compatibility. Besides, if humans have for so long considered themselves well within the threshold of knowledgeable consent, if a human knows what they want - well, they're both making an informed decision about their lives. Have at it, why don't you?

Genetic Descendants

• Faux-MAI

Lifespan

Anywhere from 350 to 440 years

Related Technologies

• HaFSRS: Haptic Feedback and Sensory Relay Suit