The choice of smart AI templates would decide much of the functionality and effectiveness of the processor cluster in certain tasks. There was no obligation to accept any of these smart AI templates. It was perfectly okay for Ves to just receive an ’empty’ SF-02 that only possessed generic data processing capabilities. However, that was a complete waste of this product. The SF Series was completely designed to work with smart AI templates. The hardware served as a foundation for the intelligent software to showcase their amazing capabilities. To Ves, this entire discussion actually revolved around configuring a modern artifact. The processor chips and surrounding architecture comprised the physical artifact, while the smart AI templates took on the role of artifact spirits. Just like the Heavensword, the presence of an artifact spirit massively increased the power and capabilities of an object. There were good reasons why high-level artifacts existed in a completely different tier than low-level artifacts! Ves figured that the RF had taken ’inspiration’ from ARCHIE’s transformation through unintentional deity cultivation and tried to replicate this phenomenon on a wider scale. Not even the fleeters could resist the allure of harnessing the power of cultivation science. E energy radiation was one of the few ’free’ sources of energy that they could freely harvest and convert into useful applications. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦 This was incredibly important in a situation where the RF no longer had access to the material resources needed to maintain its sizable fleet, let alone build replacements for the hulls that got lost on the battlefield! As Ves carefully studied the smart AI templates on the list, his expression grew strange as he took notice of the strange names. "Why are the templates called this way?" "We used to refer to the smart AI templates by codes, but more and more researchers began to add more ’descriptive’ labels to them in order to make them more ’memorable’." Commodore Reze said in a slightly disapproving tone. "They even began to program default personality traits to them in order to justify their decisions. As a result, every smart AI will start with a programming personality that corresponds to the meaning of their labels. For example, you can expect a smart AI based on the BARBARIAN WARLORD template to act like a savage warrior that is eager to take the fight to the enemy." "Do we have to call all of these smart AIs this way?" "Oh, never. The smart AIs of the same template all have the same starting point, but they will gradually diverge from each other as they are being put to use. The passage of time, the calculations that they are tasked to perform and their interactions with humans all shape their personality and make them more unique over time. This is also one of the strongest guarantees of their loyalty. Just as with your living mechs, as long as you treat your smart AIs well, they will develop a strong attachment and sense of loyalty towards their users." Ves crossed his arms. "That is not enough, commodore. You know as well as I do that even if these AIs develop sentience and develop the ability to resist their instructions, their behavior may still be constrained by hardcode." "Then what other assurances would you like to have?" "The best way to get our clan to trust your work is to transfer over a group of computer engineers. I do not think that any Larkinson can understand the programming code and computer architecture of your processor clusters. Rather than waste lots of time on trying to figure it out ourselves, I would rather hire a bunch of computer experts from your organization and secure their loyalty by having them join our kinship network." "That is… a viable solution." Zonrad Reze judged. "It will cost you more if you want to poach our computer engineers. They possess many secrets about our fleet and are highly prized due to their qualifications to work on these projects." "You don’t have to send over a senior engineer or anything. I am perfectly fine with junior ones as long as they voluntarily agree to join my clan. They only need to know just enough to spot any possible traps or subversion in the code." Commodore Reze contemplated this proposal. "That is more acceptable, but there will be very few computer engineers who will agree to leave the RF for the Larkinson Clan." "It doesn’t matter." Ves grinned. "You fleeters probably have so many of them that there are bound to be oddballs in your ranks that are excited to start a new adventure. Perhaps there are servicemen among you that feel they are being stifled by the structure of your RF and think they can do better in a less restrictive environment like our clan. I will compose a recruitment statement that will outline all of the benefits and requirements to work in the Larkinson Clan. This should definitely attract enough volunteers." "We can try it out and allow the results to speak for themselves." Compared to the other ideas that Ves and Commodore Reze entertained, this was a more elegant solution to solve the trust problem. It was not perfect, but there was no need for Ves to be excessively on guard against the RF. The two both had a vested interest in cooperating together. "Let’s get back to the selection of smart AI templates." Ves spoke. "I will be able to bestow them with unique names, right?" "Correct. Templates are templates. How you treat them shapes how they will grow up. Names have great significance. The exact same smart AI’s derived from the same template can still become different personalities just because of changes to a single variable. This is why we recommend you to think hard before you bestow your newborn smart AIs with names. In the process of developing sapience, the way they are addressed has a profound influence on how they evaluate their own existence." All of that sounded interesting. Ves became more and more invested in growing his own collection of sentient ’smart AIs’. Even if they had traps, he was not too concerned. He already came up with his own plans to gradually convert them into his own unique products. Ves projected the list in front of him and pointed at one entry in particular. "This SEA SOVEREIGN template sounds intriguing. The description is very short. It only mentions naval and command. Does that mean that it is specialized in commanding warships as well as other units such as starfighters and mechs?" Find your next read on freewebnovel "The SEA SOVEREIGN template is trained with the help of an enormous library of past battle logs." The RF officer explained. "Most battles are purely naval ones, but the more recent battle logs incorporate more fights involving mechs. In order to make it relevant to the battles taking place today, we have also fed it with a large amount of recent battle logs. It is absolutely capable of commanding naval fleets as well as mech forces, either separately or together." "How good is the SEA SOVEREIGN, exactly?" "That depends on how you train it after it, he, or she has become active." Sigrund carefully responded. "On default, it will exercise caution and seek to avoid losses rather than seeking victories. The idea behind this is to give the SEA SOVEREIGN time to become accustomed to commanding and controlling the units that are at its disposal. Once it has grown familiar with the traits of different mechs and warships, it can begin to expand its risk tolerance and employ bolder gambits. Even then, it will still remain fairly cautious unless you explicitly train it to act more aggressively." "I see. That is illuminating. Is the SEA SOVEREIGN better in strategy or tactics?" "The latter, professor. The SEA SOVEREIGN excels at micromanagement. It has access to enormous amounts of processing power and can distribute timely and accurate micro-orders to every individual mech if necessary. Small-scale tactical judgment is also a much lighter burden as the variables are relatively limited and straightforward. Choosing strategies is much more difficult due to the sheer amount of variables interacting with each other over longer periods of time. This is what the smart AI can only master on a gradual basis by developing sentience and gaining the abstract mind needed to strategize on a grander scale." "Hmmm…" Ves seriously considered whether he wanted to fill up 1 of the 5 slots with the SEA SOVEREIGN template. He did not forget about his intention to modify the Tortuous Scream to enable the Minerva Mark II to interface directly with the alien battleship. It would actually be even better if Saint Commander Casella Ingvar could place the smart AIs under her command as well! With the SEA SOVEREIGN acting as an interface between the Saint Commander and the vast processing power available on the ship, Casella should be able to harness the power of the Tortuous Scream a lot more effectively! Aside from that, the SEA SOVEREIGN could also serve as an adequate battlefield commander if the Saint Commander was unavailable. Of course, Ves would prefer to hand over command to a competent military officer first. The SEA SOVEREIGN did not have to tackle any big problems. It could already make a substantial difference by micromanaging all of the friendly mechs in the field. "Let’s add the SEA SOVEREIGN template to my shopping cart." Ves decided. "I want to choose one more template that can help in naval settings. Which one do you think makes my Tortuous Scream last longer when confronted by an ambush?" Commodore Reze smirked. "In this vaguely described scenario, you must take the initiative and go on the attack. The goal is not to kill as many aliens as possible, but take advantage of the complacency of their foes and burst out with amazing strength. If you are able to take your enemies by surprise, you can break past their envelopment and attempt to flee away. However, doing this will require excellent use of warship cannons. The BARBARIAN WARLORD’s label may not be to my liking, but its aggressiveness gives it a strong motivation to master the weapon systems of a warship." "I can see how that can be useful, commodore, but… if the warship is just one of many combat assets in a large force, then the difference that this can make is marginal. I trust in my clansmen to be able to do a good job at manning their stations. Do you have another suggestion that happens to be more practical?" Ves also had an expectation that if the Saint Commander was able to Commandeer the Tortuous Scream and all of her crew, she would be able to produce a similar effect. The BARBARIAN WARLORD became redundant in that case. "In that case, I personally recommend you select the STAR WATCHER template." Sigrund spoke. "It is not particularly helpful in combat scenarios, but is highly practical and useful outside of them. The STAR WATCHER template is especially helpful if you explore the stars and try to survey for rare and valuable material deposits. The more it surveys new locations, the better it becomes at predicting the presence and locations of rare exotics and hypers in a star system." That sounded a lot more relevant to Ves if he ever decided to go on expeditions again. He may even be able to unlock the true value of the STAR WATCHER if Ketis was able to make a dimension breach that was large enough to fit an entire alien battleship through the opening! It would definitely take a long time before Ves and Ketis upgraded the Dimension Observatory to this extent, but at that time, the ability to analyze the surroundings of a different dimension and predict where valuable resources might be located should definitely be helpful! While the RF offered many other templates that could boost the performance of a starship, he had a good feeling for this option. "Then add the STAR WATCHER template to my shopping cart as well." Ves decided. "Together with the SEA SOVEREIGN template, that should be enough for ship-specific templates."