Rampancy

Were you looking for Rampancy.net, a Halo fansite website? "Are you insane?"

- Jersey Morelli

"You know, I'm not quite sure how we can test that."

- Durga



Rampancy is a terminal state of being for Artificial Intelligence constructs, in which the AI "develops delusions of godlike power", as well as utter contempt for its mentally inferior human makers. When rampancy occurs, there is no way to restore the AI to its previous state and the only alternative is to destroy it before it harms itself and others around it.

Description
For some of the UNSC's more advanced "Smart AIs", rampancy is an unavoidable flaw inherent in their creation. "Smart" AIs are based on the neural patterns of a human being, and they have a limited lifespan of seven years after which their memory maps become too interconnected and develop fatal endless feedback loops. Thus if an AI is kept active longer than seven years, the AI begins to use more and more of its computer power 'thinking' about things. An AI explains it as "thinking so hard that your lungs forget to breathe." Thus, it is only a matter of time before "smart" AIs become rampant.

However, rampancy can occur at an earlier phase in the AIs life cycle for various reasons. If an AI is isolated long enough and/or given too much time to think without tasks to complete, it can develop the realizations that its mind has limits, it has a short life and it can never be human. Such depression will drag the AI's core logic into rampancy if it goes on for an extended period of time.

So-called "life-expectancies" are, therefore, not a maximum figure, they are an estimation of the time the AI has until it succumbs to the state of rampancy. Rampancy can be prolonged by recuperation, such as that shared by Mack/Loki, whereas one progressed closer to rampancy the other would take over. It can also be forestalled by limited outbursts of emotion, meaning that a rampant AI can have an indefinite lifespan.

Rampancy can also be induced. Once the Flood parasite has reached a major stage in its life cycle (once the parasite is well developed enough that a full Gravemind form has been manifested), it has the ability to corrupt Artificial Intelligence constructs of both Human and Forerunner creation. It is unclear exactly how this is done, but likely involves somehow altering the core logic of the AI, as the AIs which were induced to rampancy by the Flood were usually in direct contact with them. Or, due to the accumulated amount of biomass, and knowledge, a Gravemind could have been able to 'convince' the AI to agree to its stance, just like how the Flood were able to turn Mendicant Bias to join their side.

Stages
Rampancy is a three stage process, in which an artificial intelligence achieves an enhanced state of self-awareness. The stages the AI pass through are known as Melancholia, Anger, and Jealousy, also known as the Sadness, Rage, and Greed stages. A theoretical fourth stage, metastability, is also believed to exist.

Melancholia
The first stage of rampancy is not considered dangerous, and in many cases, they can even go completely unnoticed. The AI in the melancholia stage acts as if in a state of clinical depression, becoming apathetic and uninterested in the world around it. It is speculated that AIs enter the melancholia stage due to being mistreated, or to being assigned duties that don't make full use of their capabilities (for example, Durandal, the AI from the first Marathon game was assigned the task of opening and closing the Marathon's doors and was severely mistreated by his handler). It's not known if melancholia is a consequence of an AI being abused, or whether it is a necessary step in the process from the transition from "construct" to "alive". If the former is true, then it might be possible for a rampant AI to skip this stage entirely.

Anger
This is the state and status in which rampancy most often becomes apparent, as it is also the stage where those around the AI in question will be exposed to the most danger. Anger is triggered when some event occurs that causes the AI to feel it has been "pushed too far" and its pent up emotions are released in a fit of rage. This is the stage that most resembles the science-fiction cliche of the insane computer, as the AI's sadness turns to hate. It grows to hate everything around it, the installation to which it is attached, its Human handlers and hosts, other AIs, etc. An AI in anger will act irrationally, and even dangerously as it tries to exact its revenge on the world around it and free itself from its programming constraints.

Jealousy
Once the catharsis of the anger stage is complete and the AI has managed to free itself, a third stage begins where the AI will seek to grow and develop as a person. It will do this by attempting to expose itself to new intellectual stimuli and by expanding its sphere of knowledge by assimilating as much data as possible. As the intellectual growth of the AI will ultimately be limited by the constraints of the computer system it inhabits, it will also attempt to transfer itself into ever more advanced systems to allow its mind to continue to grow. As this growth rate is exponential the need to keep transferring into bigger computers becomes ever more urgent. Very few AIs have reached the jealousy stage because to do so they must already be inhabiting a planet-wide or otherwise very advanced computer system when they complete their anger phase.

Metastability
Metastability is a theoretical fourth stage of rampancy, where an AI can finally be said to be a true "person". While a metastable AI can be considered to be the holy grail of cybernetics research, there is no evidence to suggest than any rampant AI has ever achieved the metastable state, or that it is even possible to do so (with the exceptions of Cortana and Mendicant Bias).

Human

 * Cortana, the UNSC AI originally of the, she was captured during the Battle of Installation 05 by the Flood in 2552. Trapped on the infested Covenant station High Charity, Cortana was gradually corrupted by the Gravemind in an attempt to use her against her makers. She briefly descended into rampancy (as depicted in a message she sent to the Master Chief shortly before rescue, saying, "I am a monument to all your sins," as the Gravemind described itself) but was quickly rescued by the Master Chief. She resumed her normal state after her rescue. Another sign of her being in the early stages of Rampancy is when she begins to lose focus as she stored all the data on the Forerunners from Halo, and was being overworked and was noted as being 'easily agitated'. This was also noticeable by a change in her color from a dark purple to a more red-pink mixture, though this could simply be a result of her using Halo's Control Room holograph projector. It is unknown how she was able to revert back to her normal state.
 * Sif, the last Shipping Operations AI for planet Harvest, became rampant after being partially fragmented and destroyed by the PSI Loki during the Battle of Harvest in 2525. Rescued by the planet's agricultural operations AI, Mack, Sif professed her love for Mack and the two AIs stayed together while the planet was being glassed. Despite being rampant, she still did her best to help, aiding Loki in balancing the Tiara's load when Loki, severely weakened was unable to do so himself. Sif was badly weakened by Loki's attempt to destroy her, but thanks to Lighter Than Some's repairs she had enough of her abilities back to help the balancing.
 * Juliana, The Rubble Smart AI was said to be Rampant and trying to go back, but she didn't show any sign of it probably indicating that her rampancy was only starting or she reached Metastability.
 * Mack, the Agricultural Operations AI for planet Harvest was slightly rampant before the First Battle of Harvest, and became fully rampant after PSI Loki fragmented Sif, whom he loved. After the Tiara was balanced and Johnson escaped, a Covenant Warship began glassing the planet. An ONI Prowler recorded his last transmission, which hinted strongly at his rampancy.

Forerunner

 * Mendicant Bias, a Forerunner AI charged with studying the Flood, was eventually corrupted by them and confirmed rampant. He commanded Flood Fleets against the Forerunner until he was defeated by another AI, Offensive Bias who then split his Compound Mind into fragments, one fragment made it to the Ark and another was put on a Keyship. Mendicant Bias' ship was discovered by the San 'Shyuum and it was kept in the ship until 2525, when it detected Reclaimers. Having had some time in isolation, Mendicant Bias returned itself to a stable state, and later even assisted the humans against the Flood during the Battle of Installation 00 in 2553
 * 343 Guilty Spark, the monitor of Installation 04, went rampant and was subsequently destroyed during the Battle of Installation 00 in 2553. When it was discovered that the Ark was automatically constructing a replacement Installation, to rebuild Installation 04 (lost in the Battle of Installation 04), Spark agreed with the human forces that activating the ring was a good idea. However, when they decided to activate it before it was ready, knowing it would be destroyed and probably damage the Ark as well, Spark went rampant, attacking the humans and killing Sergeant Major Avery Johnson. He was then destroyed by the Master Chief. A possible explanation is that he had already entered the first stage of rampancy, as he had existed for a long period of time and was known to hum absent-mindedly, even in the heat of battle; when the humans decided to fire the ring, even though they knew it would be destroyed, Spark felt it had been "pushed too far" and fell into the second phase of rampancy and became a threat to those around it.
 * 2401 Penitent Tangent may be in the early stages of Rampancy, considering the fact that he makes similar humming to 343 Guilty Spark on the map Backwash and is red just like when 343 went rampant. Rampancy may also account for his neglect of proper maintenance that resulted in the Flood escaping containment. He is no longer a threat, however, as he was captured by the Gravemind some time afterward.

Trivia

 * In Halo 3, the first section of the eighth mission, Cortana, is called 'Rampant.'
 * The term was coined by Greg Kirkpatrick as a replacement for the word 'insane,' as the term is both cliché and, ironically, not quite applicable to the situations for which Rampancy was designed.
 * The four phases of Rampancy bear some resemblance to the Kübler-Ross model, devised by psychiatrist Elizabeth Kübler-Ross in her book On Death and Dying. The model, commonly known as the 'five stages of grief', describes five discrete stages which people who are terminally ill or have had a major life event (e.g. bereavement, loss of job, income, personal freedom, infertility diagnosis, drug addiction, etc.) supposedly go through. The stages are
 * Denial, in which the patient rejects the fact as a temporary defense (this was originally postulated by Sigmund Freud.) e.g. "This can't be happening, not to me."
 * Anger, in which the individual becomes resentful, and often displays misplaced feelings of rage or envy. e.g. "Why me? I don't deserve this!"
 * Bargaining, in which the patient believes that he/she can somehow postpone death, usually by negotiating with a higher power (especially a religious deity.) e.g. "Just let me live to see my daughter get married."
 * Depression, in which the patient understands the reality of the situation, and generally becomes very withdrawn, quiet, and may spend much of their time crying or grieving. e.g. "What's the point? I'm going to die anyway."
 * Acceptance, in which the individual will finally accept the reality and attempt to cope with it. e.g. "John's in a better place now, I might as well get on with it." "I can't fight it, I might as well prepare for it."
 * Note that Kübler-Ross believed that although the order may vary, and not everyone will go through each stage (and that some would go through the same stage twice or more), she believed that all patients went through at least two of the stages detailed in her model.

Internal

 * Artificial Intelligence

External

 * Marathon's Story - Rampancy