Build A Robot Apocalypse

Alright everyone, this is a little fun collaborative thread, the end goal is to build a post apocalyptic setting overrun with robotic killers and human groups isolated trying to survive. Let's see how Troperiffic we can make this little idea. I want to see how people devise up a apocalyptic setting based around this, for the sake of simplicity until we devise another name I'm just calling the Hypothetical AI ruler, "Overlord".

Let's set down some ground rules for what we're looking for this in apocalypse, I want to see how creative people can get.

1. The AI cannot have "logically" concluded that to save the world humanity must die off or it just turned evil, it is overdone, overplayed, only really works in parody now, and honestly I think there are more interesting ways to make it so it turned on humanity. Perhaps it hit a Hal 9000 situation, had an error with conflicting orders and took the most expedient solution for example. Maybe this overlord AI concluded that it would be safer if it corralled humans into. Maybe some disgruntled programmer with a terminal illness and a lot of nihilism programmed this Overlord to make sure everyone suffered after he was gone.
2. The most fantastical level of technologies must be the robots and their power sources. No time Travel, no artificial gravity, no scifi spaceships, this is to help give a sense of grounding to this setting and also to future installments when the story should've ended long ago. You are free to be creative with a lot of technologies, I'll allow stuff like colony build (walking worm/nanomachine) machines, or energy weapons (plasma, particle, laser) as those are technically possible. It's about a Level 3 to 4 on the Sci-fi Hardness scale I'm looking for.
3. There must be robot armies, we aren't looking for a setting where the Overlord AI wiped out all life, otherwise it would've just developed plagues, nuclear bombs, and so on and kept going until everything was dead and we wouldn't be discussing this setting. There is some reason why all of humanity isn't dead yet, and that is for everyone to figure out why.

Things that would be neat to see.

• Robot Cults - Perhaps some humans have taken to worshipping the Overlord and its Minions as metallic gods come to punish humanity for past sins, or the next step in evolution
• Numerous Overlords - Perhaps Overlord fragmented into numerous parts or there were multiple made and now each of them vie for ultimate power over the others?
• Gilded Cage Settlements - Perhaps Overlord has granted humans cities to live in, under its constant watchful eye of robotic enforcers. So what if your neighbor Jerry went missing in the middle of the night and you haven't seen him in 3 days, you got a safe bed after all.

Alright people, let's see if we can devise a fun little robot apocalypse.

Didn't we have this conversation already?

In the scifi thread about how it could happen, I wanted to see people build an entire setting, collaborative effort.

The original discussion, if anyone wants it.

Yeah that's pretty much it, this is a expanded discussion covering things such as living situations, environments, locales, stuff like that.

MUSIC! Sure, robots may have taken over, but that doesn't mean we have to abandon our musical talent!

Different roaming groups usually have their own "style", but it's mainly horns and drums. The bigger, older groups have theme tunes to draw everyone together and showcase their strength - they can afford the risk of attracting robots, since their numbers allow them to take down a few. Smaller groups or lone travellers play instruments less often, since they can't make that sacrifice.

From the top. Purpose made robot army. The system was built to conquer the world in the first place. It doesn't happen by accident. That includes the creation of infrastructure and resource acquisition with stockpiles to support Big Machine. Not only are various purpose-built machines in place to neutralize or severely hamper the military but are in place to damage and destroy government agencies and infrastructure not supporting Big Machine.

Disable or destroy all or as close to all nuclear devices and weapons as part of the opening gambit. Big Machine wants the world not a dead resource blasted cinder making more work for Big Machine down the road.

The original creators built-in fully autonomous behaviors to permit the system to run and conquer the world with a pre-arranged management and upgrade path that deals with human management and care as well as upgrades and adaptable solutions to ongoing problems.

Use a mix of Ai and expert systems to run the machinery. AI overseer the expert systems and alter them as needed.

Follow some basic advice. Do not exterminate all humans or try to do so. This will only make them fight longer and harder. Create a sort of human preserve where their collective tech level is forced low by lack of access to resources. Natural forces will control the population and the need for subsistence living will keep them very cooped up. Teach the humans how to survive in low tech environment so they at least believe you want to live and not die out. This includes agricultural education, animal husbandry, and the building of basic necessities.

Machines carry out all needed medical requirements which are given freely to all preserve humans with the highest quality care offered. Humans are protected and sheltered. Also, begin the long term education of the human species to favor the Ai and its actions.

If space colonization of humanity becomes feasible consider making arrangments for them to have space habitats after the populace has long since believed their AI overlords to be generally benevolent.

Look into the genetic alteration of the excessive aggression and destructive habits of humanity with a bend towards a cooperative and collective mindset rather than the more survival-oriented tribalism that is the norm.

Robot forms will have access to a wide variety of forms and power supplies in modular packages. No one design will rule over all the others especially if it degrades efficacy.

No human-looking robots outside of care facilities, educators, and other direct contact necessary efforts. Push for as near perfect human simulacrum as possible for these units to help make them easier to deal with and encourage the personification of such units.

How about putting a twist on the genocide itself?

Namely, the AI doesn't want humanity to die, it wants to create a Deus est Machina out of AIs and Brains In Jars networked together, combining the strengths of organic and synthetic minds to reach The Singularity. The human subjects who undergo the procedure don't die, get lobotomized or brainwashed, they fully retain their own individuality in the collective and can do whatever they want inside it.

The genocide thing comes in due to 1) the AI not giving humanity a choice in the matter and 2) a not insignificant number of humans argue that whoever undergoes the procedure is not a human anymore, thus the process technically kills the person who they were, thus it's genocide From a Certain Point of View.