Despite having strived to create synthetic minds for millennia, all experiments with intelligence have either been accidentally successful or disastrous. Examples of these accidental creations of intelligence are the Krong (created by the T’vors’ daring floral experiments, which have since been restricted away from intelligence) and the K’bo and T’thal (whose intelligences are considered accidental as the purpose of their creation by the Ankora was as slaves for their industries).  The scientific creation of races is presently illegal by order of the Imperial Senate millennia ago (following the Empire-wide abolition of slavery), though grants may be offered by the Imperial Council following a very meticulous interrogation.

It is interesting to note that all of these creations have been in the realm of biological sciences. Long before the discovery of extra-galactic travel, the scholars of the Energon Empire worked with digital means in an effort to devise intelligent machines. However, these efforts have led only to incredible computation ability, with none having ever achieved the realm of intelligence. There have been numerous facsimiles of intelligence using advanced reactionary and learning programming, and even several attempts to masquerade an unintelligent computer as fully capable of thought. Fortunately, all of the scientific charlatans have been exposed soon after their hoaxes began.

The key to discerning why attempts have failed is the definition of intelligence itself. According to the Energon Council of Knowledge and Lingual Definition, true intelligence is known to be as “an individual system of thinking capable of producing rational ideas, contemplation of such ideas, and derivations based on memory as well as intuitive ability.”  There has yet been any creation of a programming capability of deriving such a thing.  This definition is very often under debate by philosophers and scholars from all over the Empire, and many disagree with the general definition, thus holding that artificial intelligence has indeed been created already. One popular subversive definition is that intelligence is “any method of thought capable of producing logical conclusions from complex problems”, a definition which includes many powerful computers throughout the Empire.

The A-RC of the Gysoth is the closest any attempt within memory has been able to create intelligence. The sheer computational ability of the mega-computer, with its planet-sized processors, conductors, and memory banks, enable it to govern its sectors and Gysoth society. The A-RC features an advanced interface system that gives it the personality of a benign king, which can easily speak and communicate with its people. On the other hand, all Gysoth scholars who have participated in the sectors-wide project to maintain and advance the A-RC hold that it does not hold the intuitive abilities of true intelligence. While the A-RC is very able to react in situations it has been programmed and it itself has discerned, novel situations perplex it and send its processors in a fury of calculation, as well as busying scores of professional thinkers to further its programming with their own intelligence.

Many other computers in the Empire hold facsimiles of intelligence like the A-RC. Personality-imitating programs and interfaces make many computers and robots seem lifelike, though these are only meant as illusions. Behind these realistic natures are only processors and programs that are incapable of true thought. Still, this has not kept many from befriending these inert personalities just as one would grow fond of a personal possession.

It is of great importance to note the Bot class of Races, which holds mechanical intelligence. Though scholars have researched their bodies and intelligence, there have been no advances in understanding what enables them to think.  The secret has disappeared along with their creators, the mythic Ko'Rhai.  Soon after their discovery, many scientists thought that Bot reproduction might hold the key to uncovering their method of thought, but these scholars were upset to find that Bots merely copy existing psyches into new bodies, thus increasing their numbers.

Some conspiracy theorists claim that there have indeed been creations of mechanical intelligence, only that they have been covered up.  They site reasons for this conspiracy such as economically advantageous “slavery” of the robots, scientific intrusion on common beliefs, and generally as part of a larger cover-up of many hypothetical technological advances.  Most of these theories, however, have lost their certainty as the Bosath Von Bosathailop was revealed to be a fake in his “discoveries” of government and industrial conspiracy.

So what exactly is it that allows beings to be intelligent?  Perhaps the science of the Energon Empire will never know.