Contender-class artificial intelligence

The Contender-class artificial intelligence was a class of Forerunner artificial intelligence, or Ancilla, that was the most advanced of its time.

Overview
A Contender-class AI was composed of numerous AI "minds" or instances working in synchrony, thus giving it intellectual capabilities far beyond any other AI. This class of AI could command an entire fleet of ships, with its consciousness being housed in several "core ships".

During the Forerunner-Flood War, the Forerunners created 05-032 Mendicant Bias, the first Contender-class AI. Mendicant Bias was designed with the sole purpose of engaging in discourse with the parasite’s central intellect, the Gravemind, and then gathering information from it. When instructed by the Forerunners, the AI would use the information gathered about the parasite's weaknesses to unrelentingly attack the Mind until the Flood withdrew from the galaxy or perished.

There were apparently multiple Contender-class AIs in existence: Faber executed the Didact when the latter refused to give him the codes to activate them.

The UNSC AI Cortana may be considered a human analogue of a Contender-class AI: While Cortana is one AI, she can clone specific functions of herself a number of times, the upper limit of which is unknown. This essentially allows her to create an army of clones, all operating under her command, similar to a hive mind. A Contender's multiple AIs act in a similar way, though they are multiple AIs acting as one, while Cortana and her clones are a single AI with multiple parts.

Known Contender-class AIs

 * 05-032 Mendicant Bias
 * Offensive Bias