Droid breeder

A droid breeder is one who builds robots and develops their artificial intelligences to an acceptably sophisticated point.

History

As AIs became more and more advanced and complex, merely building robots and sending them to work straight off the assembly line became increasingly harder. The robots would develop diverse personalities of their own and started questioning their work directives, eventually going as far as staging robotic mutinies and strikes. Even cases equivalent to mental illness were recorded in some robots.

"Droid breeding" was a new approach to sentient droid development, in which the robot, or "droid", is considered a sentient being from the beginning - not unlike a child. The droid breeder, then, takes on the role of a surrogate "parent" who lives with the droid for a number of years, providing guidance, support and education, allowing the droid to develop fully. Thus, a healthy personality would be guaranteed for the droid.

The breeder-droid relationships worked both ways, as sometimes droid breeders would become genuinely attached to their droids, regarding them as part of their family. Occasionally a breeder might not even sell their droids upon the completion of their personalities, instead keeping them to themselves.