Synthetic

Synthetics, sometimes called 'androids', AIs, or 'synths', is a loose categorization of sentient machines with autonomous protocols, learning heuristics, and a generally bipedal/humanoid appearance. All modern synthetic life-forms descend from the original design by Nikolai Tesla, and his original android Atomic Robo.

True synthetic intelligence is extremely difficult to reproduce. Tesla's research into Zero-Point Energy was so forward-thinking that elements of it have still not been reproduced reliably. Atomic Robo was Tesla's sole success. One of Tesla's junior engineers, Phineas Horton, stole a prototype Z-point construct and used it to build a synthetic life form dubbed The Human Torch. The Torch was an active component of the postwar Great Lakes Defenders until self-terminating in 1955 due to increasing instability in his Z-point construct.

In 2014, Dr. Hank Pym was approached by the Department of Defense to create a synthetic life form for the White House. This was code-named the Ultron project. The project's results were so catastrophic that Pym single-handedly destroyed all project files, resources, and records, setting back synthetic research by decades. However, proto-sapient AIs made significant strides as computers became more complex. Many modern AIs use an organic component for their main processor, usually the brain of an animal such as a cat or dog. These units lack the ability to modify personality constraints or edit their learning heuristics, and thus not truly 'sentient'. These modern AIs are most commonly seen in the use of Life-Model Decoys (LMDs).