History Main / WetwareCPU

** Indeed, this is compulsory for [[TheEmpire the Imperium]] -- as any significant levels of AI are explicitly forbidden due to a RobotWar sometime in the 20 or 30,000s. Anything with an AI of relatively low level of intelligence (a "machine spirit") has either a human operator or a human ''brain'' and anything otherwise is considered "techno-heresy" or "heretekal". The Imperium being the Imperium, of course there are exceptions: the Land Raider tanks used by the Space Marines are suspiciously bright for an entirely artificial machine. In some cases, they've fought battles by themselves after their crew was knocked out or killed. But since they're ancient and venerable machines, that's considered okay. Though it doesn't quite stop there, as vehicles tend to have more complex intelligences as they get bigger and more complex. The apex of Imperial AI are the massive and sentient, but seemingly instinct-driven machine spirits within their massive starships, and the machine spirits within the [[HumongousMecha Titan-class warmachines]], which have been known to influence or even override their captains when the captain's focus slips. What really blurs the line is that purely supernatural "machine spirits" are ''real'', as is less benevolent HauntedTechnology, so it's entirely possible no AI is involved at all. Titan (and Knight Suit) intelligences grow to become an amalgam of all their previous operators over time, just to give one example.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* In ''Literature/TheShipWho'' series, children who are severely physically handicapped but mentally normal are placed in titanium life-support capsules, which are installed into starships, space stations, and other such things as human computer cores.

* In ''Literature/TheShipWho'', handicapped children are placed in titanium life-support capsules and trained as human computers for starships.

** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'', the Alaya-Vijnana is a ManMachineInterface that allows for one to pilot Mobile Suit Frames with exact precision using their own minds with the physical control layouts only really needed for reload/firing weapons and thruster control. The only issue with this is that the "Node" component is fused directly to the spinal columns of still-developing prepubescent kids: and that's only if the procedure is ''successful'' due to the High-Mortality Rate that each individual surgery carries with it where the best failure option is to wind up completely paralyzed. Mikazuki Augus himself had underwent the surgery three times.

* This is common in ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'', though the prevailing idea is that wetware can only get you past the second singularity or so. The lums of the [[MeaningfulName Red Star 'M'Pire]] went and disproved that by creating the [[http://www.orionsarm.com/eg-article/48114a2e6b39a Silk God,]] a completely organic archailect possibly of the fourth toposophic. However, being the size of a solar system, it's still a lot less efficient than diamondoid-based inorganic fourth-toposophic 'J-nodes', which are only as big as large gas giants.

* In the universe of the ''Literature/HyperionCantos'', this is one of several ways to attain AI, through the creation of artificial brains and DNA-based computers (other [=AI=]s had created [[RobotRepublic the TechnoCore]]). Many of these control spacecraft, including The Consul's [[CoolStarship yacht]] (that particular AI also has a sense of humor, providing much [[PluckyComicRelief comic relief]]). It is also revealed that [[spoiler:the [=TechnoCore=] uses the processing power of every single person plugged into the Internet for their calculations]].

* Played with in ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'': This film's version of Mechagodzilla is supposed to be operated by a human controller through a cybernetic interface. However, when Mechagodzilla is activated, the human operator is rapidly disposed of, and Mechagodzilla goes on a rampage through Hong Kong. It comes out later that Mechagodzilla is actually being controlled by what's left of Ghidora, who was not-quite-completely killed by Godzilla in ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019''. So Mechagodzilla is in fact being controlled by an organic entity -- just not the entity that its builders thought would be in control.

* Franchise/RoboCop was made specifically to compete with the ED-209 in ''Film/RoboCop1987'', which was fully robotic. The human element of Robocop would allow him to have better judgment. It is successful because the ED-209's AI proves to be... faulty. Ironically, [=RoboCop=] turned out to be not so controllable (having a conscience and all) that OCP attempted to heavily condition his replacements in ''Film/RoboCop2'', leading to a repeat of the ED-209 problem when the persons chosen weren't all that stable to begin with.