A Virtual Intelligence (VI) is a sophisticated program designed to make modern computer systems easier to use. They are not to be confused with artificial intelligence like the geth, as VIs are only utilized to assist the user and process data (although, like AIs, they can still get out of hand). Though they appear to be intelligent, they aren't actually self aware, just made with clever programming.

Some VIs have 'personality imprints', with their behavior parameters, speech pattern and appearance based on specific individuals, although it is illegal to make VIs based on currently living people. The quarians were even attempting to make their 'ancestor VIs' (virtual intelligence preserving the wisdom and personality of their ancestors) truly intelligent, to create a kind of virtual immortality, when the geth rebellion put an end to most of their research into synthetic intelligence.

Virtual Intelligence - Function VIs vary greatly depending on how they are deployed. They can handle search queries on the extranet, act as tour guides—as in the case of the Citadel VI, Avina—or manage sophisticated lab and database work, like Mira on Noveria. Both the humans and the elcor make extensive use of VIs in their military endeavors to process status reports, react faster than organics can or—in the case of the elcor—choose instantly between millions of gambits designed for any combat situation. A lot of armor upgrades use VI enhancements, so the onboard computer can optimize the armor's combat performance or dispense medi-gel to heal the user. The newest biotic implants, the L4 iteration, use VI technology to constantly monitor the biotic's brain waves and adapt the implant's performance to maximise biotic potential.   Drones

A gizmo you might call a "drone" could actually fall into a couple of broad categories. One is a fully autonomous vehicle that flies without any human intervention at all. The other is more like a remote-control flier: A pilot is still in charge, but they're on the ground watching the drone, or in a room somewhere watching on a computer screen or through a pair of goggles. The two types involve different tech with different potentials, but they both count as drones. So we'll consider them, for the purposes of this guide, one and the same.

The general idea of drones has been around for more than a century. It's not a terribly novel concept, really: We've invented all these cool ways to fly around, but many of them are dangerous, so wouldn't it be great if humans didn't need to be sitting inside? You could point to Nikola Tesla's 1898 demonstration of "teleautomation," in which he remotely controlled a small boat over radio frequencies. Or to Charles Kettering, who built the "Kettering Bug," a World War I–era automated missile. Maybe it was the Queen Bee, the first reusable unmanned aerial vehicle, which the British military used in the 1930s for military target practice.

  Autonomous Vehicles An autonomous vehicle is one that can drive itself from a starting point to a predetermined destination in “autopilot” mode using various in-vehicle technologies and sensors, including adaptive cruise control, active steering (steer by wire), anti-lock braking systems (brake by wire), GPS navigation technology, lasers and radar.