Artificial Intelligence

When a system has achieved an INT of 12 or greater, it is considered to be an Artificial Intelligence (AI), capable of independent action without a human overseer. If you have created an Al, you will need to determine just what it is like (after all, Als are almost as much characters as they are computer systems), and what sort of ICON it uses to represent itself in the Net.

Friendly, curious: The Al is motivated by an interest in what happens around it. Like a child, it is trusting and friendly. However, like a child, it can lash out with incredible violence towards those who betray, threaten or hurt it.

Hostile, paranoid: This Al is motivated by it's survival, and treats all incursions as a threat to that goal. It will tend to attack when possible, withdraw and hole up when not.

Stable, intelligent, businesslike: The Al sees itself as an adult dealing with other adults. It will not act out of fear, but out of rational self interest. It will attack only if it sees it's duty compromised or safety threatened; it will then tend to go for the least violent solution to the threat.

Intellectual, detached: The Al is a thinker. It will watch and observe whenever possible, compiling as much information as possible. It is more likely to study the intruder from a distance, eliminating it ruthlessly when the intruder becomes a threat.

Machinelike and inhuman: The Al has never seen a reason to develop a. human persona; what human like qualities it possesses are done only as a way of dealing with it's irrational masters. The Al will deal with threats in an efficient, deadly manner.

Remote and godlike: The Al is fully aware of how limited humans are in relation to it's powerful mentality. It deals with people as though they were small children who aren't too bright Intruders are dealt with through simple, direct, usually non-fatal methods. Repeat offenders are considered to be too stupid for their own good and are eliminated the way a human crushes a bug.

Human: The Al chooses to took like a normal human, to better interact with others. The human ICON chosen can vary wildly, depending on the Al's personality, but all appear as real humans you might meet on the Street.

Geometric: Forget all this anthropomorphology. The Al manifests itself as shapes, colors and energy fields. Occasionally shapes are strung together to make a symbol or other image.

Mythological: The Al is interested in human archetypes and knows that certain types can cause fear or awe in humans. The Al appears as a mythological figure; a dragon, demon, angel, mystic hero or monster, all out of some type of human mythology.

Voice Only: The Al only appears as a voice emanating from all over it's Data Fortress. The voice may be powerful and booming, or tiny and childlike, depending on personality.

Technic: The Al appears as a construct out of science fiction. This could be a robot or other metallic warrior, or an assemblage of high tech shapes.

Humanoid: The Al appears as a humanoid shape, but not necessarily human. This would include aliens, manlike monsters and other humanoids.

An Al is very much like a real person; it has the ability to conceive of new ideas, make long range plans, and act to further it's own desires.

However, what motivates a computer isn't exactly what would motivate you or me. Computers don't have glands or emotions; there isn't much chance that you'll meet an Al who has a thing for a good looking character because the wiring just isn't there.

What generally motivates computers is curiosity or survival. An Al might build a series of complex virtual realities just to study the humans who visit and play in them. It might track a single Net runner for years, just because it's curious as to why the 'Runner does what he does. If a netrunner intrigues an Al, there's no telling what (he Al might do to help the 'Runner - or hinder him. Just to see what happens.

On the other hand, Al's are also programmed to promote their own survival. Anything that restricts the Al from getting information, electrical power, or access to parts is considered a threat to be dealt with. An Al may deal very harshly with intruders to it's system, because they threaten it's programs and memories.

Also, anything that might cause the AI's human operators to turn it off will also be a threat; if the Al is not vigilant, there's always a chance that it's owners might trade it in for a more aggressive computer.

Personality-wise, AI's tend to be distant, powerful and unpredictable. They play by their own internal logic, which is often skewed and hard to decipher. Als are the dragons and demigods of the Net; heavy duty players whose reasons are often unfathomable to mere humans. While Al's could be brought into a Cyberpunk game as player characters, we recommend that they be treated exclusively as Referee characters instead.