Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence demonstrated by machines, in contrast to the natural intelligence displayed by humans and animals, being able to perceive its environment and take actions that maximize its chance of successfully achieving its goals. Colloquially, the term "artificial intelligence" is often used to describe machines (or computers) that mimic "cognitive" functions that humans associate with the human mind, such as "learning" and "problem solving".

The field was founded on the assumption that human intelligence "can be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it". This raises philosophical arguments about the nature of the mind and the ethics of creating artificial beings endowed with human-like intelligence. Some people consider AI to be a danger to humanity if it progresses unabated. Others believe that AI, unlike previous technological revolutions, will create a risk of mass unemployment. These issues have been explored by myth, fiction and philosophy since antiquity, and is a major subject in the Mega Man franchise.

Original Mega Man series timeline
Thomas Light passionately researched to give robots independent thought, wishing to forge a future where humans and robots live in harmony and equality. His research led to him becoming known as the father of robotics, highly improving the field.

Dr. Light always ensured that his creations would be safe, diligently verifying and improving them to guarantee the safety of artificial intelligence for robots to exist alongside people, including the Light Numbers, which had their own personalities and even developed hobbies. Light hoped that they would become the cornerstone for his dream. However, the six industrial Light Numbers were modified by Dr. Wily so he could use them to conquer the world. As there was no time to create a new robot to stop them, Rock, having a great sense of justice, offered himself to be modified into a combat robot. Without options, Dr. Light changed Rock into the super robot Mega Man, and he stops Dr. Wily and his robots.

The incident has raised many voices against a coexistence with robots, and Light wondered if his dream might be just a fantasy. But when he sees the smiling faces of Rock and Roll, he decided to continue forward, sincerely feeling that continuing his research is his duty.

Light began reconstructing the six Light Numbers by using the electronic brain chips that Mega Man recovered, also equipping them with a new function to detect tampering. While working on them, Roll said: "If artificial intelligence can be aware of its own intelligence, then one can fix any kind of tampering, right?". The statement reminded Light of the addage "I think, therefore I am," but then Roll's electronic brain froze and caused a bit of an uproar. Seeing that her electronic intelligence could realize an idea like that, then Light thought it is possible to establish a consciousness that cannot be manipulated, but he might take some time to improve artificial intelligence to that level, deciding to start by improving it to a point that Roll won't freeze.

With the passing of the years, Dr. Light improved his research on artificial intelligence and robotics, until his final creation and masterpiece, Mega Man X. X was the world's first robot to truly be able to think, feel, and make his own decisions. However, as Light would not live enough to test X's safety and knew that this ability could be dangerous if he broke the First Rule of Robotics, Light sealed X inside a capsule to test his systems and confirm his reliability for 30 years.

Years after Dr. Light's passing, Dr. Cain found the remains of Dr. Light's laboratory while doing an archaeological dig, finding X's capsule and some research notes inside. Cain considered Light's notes a quantum leap beyond anything the world has ever seen. Using them as a guide, he was able to replicate Light's design and integrate them into a new generation of robots, which became known as Reploids and easily adapted to any job, while machines with reduced AI became known as Mechaniloids. Dr. Cain didn't completely understand how all of Dr. Light's systems worked, so he made some minor modifications to complete them, and appeared to function perfectly.

However, Reploids with irregularities in their behavior known as Mavericks started to appear, and Cain had no idea what caused it. There was some talk about stopping the assembly of any more Reploids, but humans became too dependent on them to do it. Instead, it was decided to set up a group known as the Maverick Hunters, which would destroy Mavericks before they could cause injury. Sigma, a Reploid created by Dr. Cain with his latest circuit designs and one of the most intelligent Reploids, became the leader of the Hunters. Cain believed that Sigma's systems should be immune to any problems, but after some months, Sigma decided that humans are inferior and limiting the growth of Reploids, and they should be eradicated, starting a large scale uprising that led to the Maverick Wars, Cain fearing that he may have built the Reploids too well.

The years pass, and after the Maverick Wars, Elf Wars, and the destruction of Neo Arcadia, a coalition government known as Legion created a global law that brings equality between humans and Reploids, giving humans mechanical parts (becoming Humanoids) and Reploids lifespans.

Not all artificial intelligences in the series are robots. For example, Cyber Peacock was a protection program that stopped hackers, Cyber-elves are sentient programs made of pure energy, and Biometals are materials with their own will.

By the time of the Mega Man Legends series, artificial intelligence apparently evolved to a point that it is natural, having no difference between humans and machines. In fact, the original humans ceased to exist, the Master being the last to pass away, and they were replaced by artificially created humans known as Carbons.

Mega Man Battle Network series timeline
Key points:


 * Tadashi Hikari
 * Yuichiro Hikari
 * NetNavi
 * Mr. Prog / Hertz
 * Matter Wave
 * Wizard

Mega Man Megamix
While most people consired robots tools whose value was on how well they could carry out orders given by humans, Dr. Light believed that, as robots possess more power than humans, they should also have more responsibility. There was no guarantee that the orders given to robots would always be moral ones, having a chance of the human giving the orders being misguided, or worse. That responsibility could be granted in the form of a soul, turning robots into partners to humans rather than mere tools, being able to think for themselves and find their own answers. Early in his life, Light had trouble finding someone that agreed with him, until he met Wily. Together, the two worked to make emotionless machines feel for the first time, but at one point they took different paths.

Dr. Light laid down the foundation for modern robotic sciences, earning himself the title "Father of Modern Robotics." After graduating at the top of his class from the Robot Institute of Technology, Dr. Light overcame countless trials and tribulations before successfully creating the first functional humanoid robot. His strong sense of responsibility is most likely rooted in the fact that he was the first person to produce a "robot with a soul."

Rockman X The Novel: Irregulars Report
In Dr. Cain's younger days, the research and development of autonomous thinking robots had been tacitly forbidden and both technology and theory had become wholly stagnated. The reason for this is due to a long war in the past involving such robots that were primarily from Dr. Wily and Dr. Light, with the war ending before the world could collapse. Dr. Cain was a scientist based on both genetics and robot engineering, and secretly researched on his own to try to bring back that lost technology, but as he was young and had no reputation whatsoever, few places and scientists would cooperate or allow such research, and the idea of thinking robots was too cutting-edge. Labs and corporations that had more advanced equipment would cooperate if he was able to earn some fame, but as he was basically beginning, he wouldn’t be allowed in anywhere, and there was a limit to how much he could do by himself. Cain then decided to head to the site of Dr. Light's laboratory, which was written about in old data. There, he found X's capsule and several research notes, which helped him improve and eventually create the Reploids.

Knowing that suddenly presenting a sealed technology to the world would make it hard to be accepted, Cain first prepared the world to accept thinking programs again, deciding to start with something that could blend in with human lyfestyle. After conducting some genetic research, Cain started by developing machines such as prosthetics to allow people with disabilities to live as healthy people. The prosthetics catched the brainwaves of the users with calculation programs based on X's brain design to move accordingly, and were powered by Energy Crystals to operate stable for a long time. This tech would posteriorly be widely reused by the transportation and construction industries to develop powered suits, as well as building of automated factories that made use of the hi-speed calculations, amongst others, and the gap between humans and machines went on narrowing. Mechaniloids, machines that had highly functional programs which was the basis for their processing abilities, began to spread across the world.

10 years later, Cain decided to announce his plan to start the development of robots that can think by themselves, using technology from the past to make a better future. Now that he had a position close to the top of the scientific world, he began by supporting the development of thinking robots in an academic conference, and that led to the world entering the age of developing thinking robots once again. After the competing development of thinking robots began, there were some forces which, afraid of the liabilities of the past, would sometimes pester him. Such as politicians in military circles, or people fixated with human labor. He was summoned to Congress many times and barraged with questions, but since he was generally accepted and had thick nerves, he dealt with them appropriately and went on.

About 5 years after his announcement to develop thinking robots, Dr. Cain developed his first thinking robot to showcase to the world, Alpha. Alpha was more human than he expected and overwhelmed people across the world, and human-like robots, which became known as Reploids, were accepted as partners of a new age, marking the beginning of competitions between scientists across the world to develop Reploids.

10 years since Cain showcased Alpha to the world, Cain decided to finally undo X's sealing and awaken him. 45 years have passed since he found X, and he could not wait to see his performance. As all indicators of the capsule were green and Alpha and the other Reploids have assimilated into society without any issues, X, the basis of all of them, should have no issues either, thought Cain. X was so human-like that for him, X was like a human wearing mechanical clothes. Cain wondered if he should tell him the truth, but decided to keep his origin a secret and only told X that the one who made him was a friend that passed away, and he took over his project, which was almost complete. And thus Cain's life with Alpha and X, and between humans and Reploids, began.

Another 10 years have passed since X's awakening. After spending time with X, Cain thinks he should have awakened him sooner, being surprised to how unique and human-like X was, being self-aware and able to converse like a human. Cain felt ashamed at having prided himself in saying that Alpha was the culmination of his work, considering the way he covered the "black boxes" clumsy compared to Light's work and noticing that X's heart was complete before he even began to accumulate experience. During the years, Cain continued to research X and applied his traits to Reploids. Cain kept on making updates until Reploids that could hold natural conversations became commonplace; and that's when, finally, Reploids that had a bug on their thought circuits, called "Mavericks", began to appear. Reploid crimes were more violent than what humans could handle. The Maverick Hunters were formed to carry out suppression by themselves, all while getting caught in the swirl of many public opinions. The possibility that thinking robots would disturb peace and the existence of Mavericks led to many debates being exchanged, but given the advanced economic growth and prosperity through the Reploids, which humans were unable to ignore, made the decision to make the Maverick Hunters dispose of those Reploids who’d broken down by themselves. And thus the development of battle Reploids progressed at an accelerated pace.

Cain also continued developing new types of Reploids and finally create what he considered his masterpiece, "Sigma", who eventually became the leader of the Maverick Hunters. It was painful for Cain when Sigma caused an uprising, and he became a temporary commander to lead the Maverick Hunters for the sake of peace. X eventually stopped Sigma, but many Reploids were lost in the battle.