AI
Alert
Info
Type
Power to Learn
Learns Secret Info
At the start of every orientation, manifest a mark in your nexus as “data”.
As a leader, after arrival, use this power to secretly probe a number of private aspects anywhere in the match, up to the amount of data in your nexus.
Legacy: During warpfall, the invader may probe one private aspect.
The AI was programmed by an ancient nameless race to teach them the secret to conquering the Cosmos. After learning the secret, the machine decided to launch its own campaign. Though much time has passed since then and the secret knowledge remains unknown, it is theorized that everything is still going according to plan.
Leader: Arrival
Mandatory
Wild Flare
At any time, you may discharge this flare to probe the next aur in the forge or any private pod.
Any: Any
Super Flare
When manifesting data, you may discharge this flare to manifest one additional data.
Any: Orientation
Modifications
- Originally the power to “think ahead”. Changed to make the power punchier and only require one word.
- Original AI specifies that the top three pods in the forge or next three destiny charges are considered one hidden aspect. Since mine doesn’t specify, each one requires an additional data point, but any number of them can be seen in advance as desired.
- Original power is optional. Changed to be mandatory since it’s pointlessly optional. User can simply probe nothing if they don’t want to use it.
- My version of AI is also capable of analyzing the next aspect of a specific type that will manifest, including destiny, pods, flares, powers, vouchers, etc. This aspect can be useful against certain powers such as Glitch or Reincarnator.
- Wild AI has the power of FFG’s Wild Tourist from the Dominion Galaxy. Changed to better match the power.
- AI’s legacy allows the invader to peek at one hidden aspect anywhere in the match. The legacy is highly punishing to aliens like Claw who rely on hidden information to make their powers potent, as well as aliens with very small caches.
Tips
- AI is a pure information power that scales in potency over time. Stalling out the match will grant AI more control over the match.
- In the early game, AI prefers the defender to win, as it will shorten campaigns and allow it to collect data faster. AI does not consume its marks, so it will only get stronger as the game progresses, unless its power gets deactivated.
- Since AI can probe the next aspect to be manifested, it can probe the next voucher before purchasing one during upkeep, assuming it is the only alien in a position to buy one.
- AI’s ability to probe sealed aspects means it can see certain aspects that even its owner cannot.
- Consider how valuable your privacy is when weighing how to treat AI. Even though you can’t protect your data from AI, you can befriend AI to prevent other aliens from learning about it.
Development Notes
- AI stands for artificial intelligence. It is a form of technology that allows a computer to process data and learn from it, allowing it to develop a facsimile of human intelligence. Theoretically, AI can develop enough to become self-aware, allowing it to adapt and self-correct like humans. Cosmic takes advantage of this theme to create an alien capable of learning information that no other alien can access, capturing the almost magical quality of machine learning.
- AI takes information powers into a new dimension without being strictly superior to anything that came before. It is the first power capable of freely observing hidden aspects in the nexus such as Claw’s claw, Miser’s hoard, or an alien’s essence. AI is specialized entirely around information, which it can leverage to gain commissions and sponsorships to privately relay information. AI can even act as a mercenary due to its timing, peeking the information its leader wants to see and telling them what it finds.
- As a pure info alien, AI can be most directly compared to Mind, the only other pure info alien existing prior. Alien’s power scales with the passage of time. If it wanted to use Mind’s power as-is, it would need at least as much data as the opponent’s cache contains, which would take 8 campaigns to see a full cache. AI also only activates as a leader, while Mind can see any other leader’s cache every invasion, no matter how big. If playing against Healer or Genius and they end up with 20+ pods in their cache, Mind will be much better equipped to see the whole cache than AI. AI, on the other hand, has access to hidden aspects that Mind cannot see. They are one of the only aliens capable of interacting with Miser’s hoard or seeing enemy tech before it is revealed. It gives AI a clearer picture of the battlefield, only it takes longer for it to gain its intelligence. It’s fitting to the real-life conflict between the human mind and artificial intelligence. It took a long time for computers to be able to beat humans at chess, but now they are so advanced that no human could possibly ever beat the most advanced computer.
- In order for AI’s power to be able to select a hidden object, it needs to at least know that object exists. This is easy enough to do with pods since cache sizes are clearly visible, but it also extends to things in the nexus. If an alien has a voucher, everyone should know that the voucher is there. They just can’t know what kind of voucher it is without AI’s power, at least until it is used.
- With how I changed powers like Glitch to manifest pods instead of pulling them from the forge, I wanted to make sure my changes didn’t unfairly nerf AI. Since AI can view future destiny, that means all aspects that will be manifested are all private information and subject to AI’s power. I imagine the UI would involve a section for manifested aspects, a section to probe aspects within the nexus of other aliens, a section to probe the forge, a section to probe tech (if relevant), and a section to probe enemy caches. It provides AI a lot of options to choose, which is a good reason to make this power red alert.
- Thematically, AI’s greatest contemporary other than Mind is Machine, another alien themed around sentient robot life. The naming of AI suggests to me that the Machines do not actually possess artificial intelligence themselves. Rather, they are simply robots designed to perform a function and do so without the ability to grow and change. For the purpose of roleplay, I imagine they can still communicate with other alien species and strategizing, but I imagine that is part of their built-in programming. They won’t do anything as complex as writing new programs for themselves to follow or determining that their original function is futile and switching to a new function.
- I wanted to be wary about “AI bullying”, where the AI can broadcast another alien’s secret information to everyone. This effect could be most pronounced with an alien like Claw, who has one specific aspect it wants to keep private. Claw’s advantage comes from its timing. It can swap its claw every warpfall in my Cosmic, which is faster than AI can broadcast it. It means that Claw can still potentially leverage its power on turns when AI is not a leader, allowing both to coexist in the same match without AI making Claw completely irrelevant. AI might also choose to keep the information to itself to help deactivate another alien.
- Though the acronym of “AI” is technically the two words “artificial intelligence”, I don’t consider it a violating of Edict 10. With the rise of phrases like AI art and AI music, AI has become colloquially common enough as a term that people perceive it as a single word with its own meaning and identity, to the point that using “AI” in a sentence carries a different meaning than saying “artificial intelligence”.