Artificial Intelligences

This is the story-based description of Artificial Intelligences. For the official rules on AI characters, go here.

Artificial intelligences are intimidating to many humans. With their ability to perform multiple simultaneous femtosecond calculations, the pure 'intellect' of a high-grade AI is daunting to the average polymath, much less an average human -- and given their tendency to emotionless calculation, they are regarded as good servants but poor masters in most arenas.

History

Many trees and much time has been dedicated to theorizing and developing artificial intelligences, and even more of the same has been spent wondering about how their development would affect the world. Some have seen how the development of true AI would uplift humanity into a new age of enlightenment. Others have seen how such development would end in tears and pain with the AI calculating the inefficiencies of humanity and determining to destroy and supplant them, in the name of progress. A thousand thousand visions have fallen inbetween the two extremes, but we are not talking of visions, but of fact and reality. The earliest confirmed development of artificial intelligences in humanity's history is that of Doctor Gero of the Red Ribbon Army. His development of 'artificial humans' was the hallmark of a new age in computing technology. Sadly, he turned it to evil uses, attempting to use his creations to destroy Goku. He ultimately failed however, and he was destroyed. Since then, artificial intelligences have remained a curiosity, a sideline rarely explored. Occasionally a power-wielding robot or android will appear, produced here or there, but they are tremendously outnumbered by their organic counterparts. However, Empirical Industries has sought to change this. Recognizing artificial intelligences as life, worthy of due rights, they have consistently lobbied for incorporation of a Bill of AI Rights in Cardinal's legal system, and refuse to sell artificial intelligences any more than they would sell their human employees.

Physical Description

While artificial intelligences can have a vast array of physical forms they manipulate, they tend to have the same composition at their core: a dense block of quantum-scale computational circuitry. The 'soul' of an AI is impossible to exactly duplicate, preventing the AI from being 'cloned' endlessly to produce an army of superpowered AIs after one has been trained to a high level of capability -- each new AI is birthed anew when their quantum core is activated, a fresh slate needing experience to develop into its full potential.

As Empirical Industries is one of the most common sources of AI cores, they are often called 'blue boxes', as EI prefers to package them in blue armoured cases, ready for installation into the AI interface cradles of their multitude of forms.

OOC Information

This is a unique race designed by Hroefn.

Despite mentions of Empirical Industries throughout the AI information, they are not the exclusive property of EI and may be played as being created by other companies or individuals provided that all necessary racial background requirements are met, ie Requires Support.