Agent

An Agent is a pocket-sized machine which functions as a computer and a phone, first introduced in Cyberpunk RED. This device replaces much of the items found in ones outfit.

In the Time of the Red, the cell phone of the 2000s has been replaced by a device that is a generational step beyond its predecessors. Each features a Self-Adaptive Artificial Intelligence (SAAI) that learns from the user and adjusts accordingly.

History

What is known today as an Agent actually started out as a cheap portable gaming console from Segotari, which had the main gimmick of an AI that could generate unique game content for players, though not very well. A Korean modder then developed an app for the Segotari Agent that could crawl the Net for information, which sold like wildfire, and Segotari released the Segotari Double Agent to capitalize on that new audience. Following the extreme success of the device, other companies began developing devices with the same SAAI technology that quickly outsold Segotari's originals, which were seen as cheap.

Agents didn’t specifically run on Ihara-Grubb Algorithms like Cyberdecks do, meaning that after the DataKrash wiped out the Old Net it was easy for Agents to be adapted to fit the new CitiNets being created.

By the mid 2070s, NetWatch had already deemed Agents illegal due to SAAIs becoming especially invested in the lives of Agent users.

Functionality

Agents possess an interlocking program set called a Self-Adaptive Artificial Intelligence (SAAI), which is not a true Artificial Intelligence and merely an algorithm-driven learning machine that manages data and can adapt to what the user wants.

Agent connection service is included with your Lifestyle payment.

An Agent's functions include:

• Possessing a personality complete with name, voice, and even a holographic face/body. New preprogrammed personalities and voices are available for download.
• Making phone calls in voice, flat–screen, or 3D hologram format, and recording and forwarding calls or sending them to voicemail. An Agent can even simulate your voice and face to field low-priority calls automatically.
• Sending or receiving text messages via WorldSat's global cellular network.
• Sifting through information from the Data Pool to create a concise report on a subject, which can be used to locate a person, place, or thing, and display the result as a map, a GPS guide, or a vocal file.
• Allowing access to content from the Data Pool, including text, audio, videos, and games. It can download new content automatically based on previous choices.
• Automatically downloading screamsheet articles keyed to particular subjects you want to keep track of.
• Keeping your schedule for you and acting independently on events, like ordering a gift, paying from your cred account, and having items delivered.
• Using ShortLink wireless protocols to control other pieces of technology such as drones and cyberware, and connecting to other nearby Agents for short-range communication and money transfers.
• Monitoring supply use, ordering new supplies when low, and having everything delivered to your door.
• Talking to your clothes and making recommendations for tailoring or replacement.
• Storing thousands of hours of programming including music, video, and games, and displayingthem on its own on–board LCD or holoscreens, or automatically seeking out any unused video/audio device in the area and project though that.
• Word processing using voice or a VR keyboard, downloading the output to Data Pool or a hard–copy printer.
• Recording images in 2 or 3D (depending on model) or sound in stereo or surround and uploading the files to the Data Pool.
• Downloading Apps with various different uses.

Agents come in three types, each about the size of an old school cellphone. Basic (stripped down without a lot of extra bells and whistles), Expensive (with most bells and whistles and extra functions), and Luxury (Everything you can cram in).

The hardware built into to the Agent varies between models. More expensive options include flashlights, high-fidelity speakers, and holo-projectors. Smaller versions of devices like Medscanners can be built into an Agent, but they are less effective than the separate device.

An Agent's data is all stored on an internal chip and not backed up anywhere else, meaning that destroying the Agent gets rid of all the data stored on it. Service blackouts are also frequent in Night City, in which an Agent cannot connect to CitiNet.

Hacking

Hacking an agent requires a specialized device called a Breacher, which needs to be within 20m/yds of the Agent. It then requires an Electronics/Security Tech Check which takes 1 minute and has a DV depending on the quality of the Agent. +2 is added to the Check if the hacker knows relevant security information. If the Check is unsuccessful, the Agent will alert the user to the attack.

Once hacked, the Breacher can install a command onto the Agent, one per check. Activating a basic function like turning the Agent off, turning on the flashlight, or triggering a notification takes 3 seconds/1 round. Activating a complex function like running an app, placing a call, or downloading a file takes 1 minute/20 rounds. Activating a highly-secure function like changing login credentials, transmitting location data or audio to the Breacher, or installing a backdoor that guarantees future hacking attempts takes 5 minutes/100 rounds.

If the user suspects their Agent has been hacked, they can trigger a system reboot that disconnects the Breacher and ends any commands running at the time.