AI

Artificial intelligence was officially first achieved in 2048 at Stanford University.

Since then, several other certified AIs have been developed at research institutes and private labs around the world. The process is simple, though expensive and unreliable: a stable neural net is constructed, given a personality imprint and access to a knowledge bank; if all goes well (in well under 1% of known cases) a new AI evolves.

As of 2055, there were approximately 50 certified AIs in the world (not counting alien visitors like Skysabre), plus several times that many whose "true AI" status was still contested. Of course, there are also rumors with varying degrees of credibility of "unofficial" AIs active in the world, such as Deus Ex Machina. The certified count may be just the tip of the iceberg.

Thus far, the legal status of AIs is still ambiguous - there have been very few precedent cases and those few have been inconsistent - but the principles underlying metahuman law are generally understood to apply to them.