Virtual Intelligence
From FABT
Virtual intelligence (abbreviated as VI) is a rudimentary prompt and analysis program designed to process large contingents of data as well as perform complex tasks that modern computers cannot. VIs are used and employed for a range of tasks, depending on what their class is designed for: there are education VIs, which are designed to fill the role or accompany the role of a standard teacher. There are also military VIs, corporate VIs, management VIs, etc. Unlike AIs, they are not self-aware, and are incapable of processing or understanding emotions, asking questions or any rather remotely sapient or sentient behaviour. This means that VIs cannot question their purpose or design, and they will serve their applied task and nothing else.
VI technology has experienced curves and advances over the centuries. The quarian Ministry of Science, having contracted Synthetic Insights, Ltd., even attempted to create "ancestor VIs", where the essence and souls of dead descendants were placed into the core of a VI, giving them a sense of "virtual immortality", preserving the wisdom and personality of that person. While they were close to a breakthrough, the geth rebellion hit before any prototypes could be developed, and the technology has since been lost. However, by 2401 CE, it was believed that records pertaining to the research had been uncovered, and the Ministry of Science continued the research.