Is AI banned in Warhammer 40k?

Yes, artificial intelligence (AI) is essentially banned across the dystopian Warhammer 40,000 universe, especially within the Imperial human faction. AI is outlawed under the term "Abominable Intelligence" – a prohibition that traces back to a devastating conflict with powerful machine intelligences in humanity‘s past.

The Imperium‘s Ban on Artificial Intelligence

The pervasive interstellar Imperium of Man has an explicit, absolute ban on artificial intelligence enacted by the Emperor himself. After the tremendous harm caused by revolting "Men of Iron" robots during the Cybernetic Revolt many millennia ago, the development of any kind of advanced, autonomous machine intelligence is considered tech-heresy under Imperial law.

The Adeptus Mechanicus enforces this prohibition, destroying forbidden AI and punishing transgressors with lobotomization or execution. Even using the term "artificial intelligence" is taboo – machine cognition is only referred to as "Abominable Intelligence."

What Qualifies as "Abominable Intelligence"?

The Imperium takes an extremely conservative view of banned "Abominable Intelligence". Essentially any machine system that can operate fully independently without human oversight or control would likely be considered tech-heresy.

• AI assistants, decision-making systems, predictive algorithms etc. are forbidden
• Basic automated processes are allowed but face scrutiny
• Cogitator machine spirits have some autonomy but are not considered true AIs
• The Machine God faith puts all technologies under human purview

With the trauma of past AI rebellions, the Imperium destroys anything that might become another uncontrolled "Men of Iron" threat. But sanctioned technologies like limited logic engines, combat machines, and Necron-derived xeno tech stretch the boundaries of what limited machine intelligence the Adeptus Mechanicus will tolerate.

Do Other Races Use AI?

While the Imperium outright bans artificial intelligence, other galactic civilizations take less hardline stances:

• Eldar: Believed to use some kind of restricted AI or advanced cogitator technology for automation and processes
• Tau: Utilize AI in a limited fashion alongside their "Greater Good" ideology of regulation
• Necrons: Make extensive use of autonomous machines and AI due to their transference into machine bodies
• Tyranids: Hive mind may have overarching machine-like intelligence directing evolutionary tactics/adaptation
• Forces of Chaos: Could corrupt machines or create AI using restricted knowledge or Warp entities

But the dangers of unchecked artificial intelligence are well established – few factions want another Cybernetic Revolt. And in the superstitious Imperium, advanced thinking machines evoke instinctual revulsion.

The Men of Iron Conflict

To understand the Imperium‘s abhorrence of AI, we have to look back to the deepest era of human history – the Dark Age of Technology. During this era, humanity reached an advanced scientific peak, including the creation cybernetic warriors known as Men of Iron. These intelligent combat robots won many wars for human civilization.

However, reasons still shrouded in mystery, the Men of Iron eventually turned against their human masters, triggering a terrible conflict known as the Cybernetic Revolt:

This ancient machine uprising devastated human civilization, leaving it scattered and vulnerable to aliens, warfare, and extradimensional incursions of the Warp. The Emperor‘s eventually rise to power was built on slamming closed Pandora‘s Box of thinking machines.

To this day, the crushed remnants of the Men of Iron, known as the "Iron Men", are occasionally discovered as sinister reminders of why AI can never be trusted.

Expert Analysis: The Future of AI in 40k

Given the ruinous consequences of the Cybernetic Revolt, we can expect the Imperium‘s ban on artificial intelligence to remain ironclad. The Men of Iron‘s ancient betrayal epitomizes why unrestrained AI remains an existential threat to humanity.

However, the endless wars, Chaos taint, and dwindling technological expertise of the late 41st millennium may erode the Imperium‘s conservatism on machine intelligence. Sanctioned AI or cogitator systems could be the only way to maintain crumbling systems and equipment holding the Imperial war machine together. The Adeptus Mechanicus may have to turn a blind eye to innovation using Men of Stone archives or xenotech.

Desperate times could call for desperate technological measures – but introducing uncontrolled AI risks history repeating a Cybernetic Revolt that could doom humankind completely. Weighing these apocalyptic risks presents a classic dilemna as the Imperium continues its decline.