Artificial Intelligences describes entities that come into existence without the means of a naturally occurring biological process, such as birth.
The statement that Artificial Intelligences are people is frequently contested, with consensus varying from culture to culture.
The First leaves determination of legal personhood of Artificial Intelligences to its provincial governments. Currently, 31% of subsectors of The First extend legal personhood to AI. A common sentiment of cultures that do not extend sophont status to AI is fear of the propensity of AI to exceed the mental and physical capabilities of biological sophonts.
The Solamani Accord established successful competion of the 2.71828-Rahmani Cognition Test as the metric to grant sophont status to an Artificial Intelligence. In 2266, the Accord passed the Common Law Personhood Act, allowing for AI without access to the test to attain sophont status via 10 years of open cohabitation with a majority biological sophont community.
Regulations regarding the creation of AI vary between subsectors, individual systems and planets.
In the Solar Subsector, the laws established in the Solamani Accord were ratified under the Second Accord with minor adjustments. Ganymides reserve the right to both design and produce AI with no restrictions aside from a ban on two criteria:
1. AI of very advanced level (see below) or higher created specifically for offensive military use; or
2. AI created at self-aware (see below) level or higher created for any non-religious purpose. The Solamani Accord system stratifies artificial intelligence into categories: primitive, basic, hunter/killer, advanced, very advanced, self-aware, and conscious, with self-aware and conscious describing AI capable of passing the 2.71828-Rahmani Cognition Test.
All other AI must be produced by The First, or through a contract with The First.
Another commonly used system in The First uses the categories Expert System and Virtual Intelligence, with Virtual Intelligence corresponding to advanced to conscious in the Solamani system.
In the Solar Subsector, AI that have achieved personhood may produce AI of their same category or lower with no restrictions. To do so, they must receive an AI Parenthood License, and assume any AI produced through this license as their legal dependent until they successfully achieve personhood of their own.
AI with installed weaponry and armor are often barred from entry to higher law level worlds if the installations are not detachable.
AI have cultures broadly idiosyncratic to their origin. The only AI dominated systems are in Haven, and remain culturally influenced by the prejudices of The First.
AI of primitive, basic, and hunter/killer categories are diffuse in the Solar Subsector, but AI of higher categories are less common, especially outside of Ganymide-dominated systems.
See Robots as Travellers in the Robot Handbook, p. 115-117.
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