[A simple reminder, nothing more. Markus, despite the caution he’d like to wield moving forward on this particular subject, is also prone to deep curiosity; he’ll listen closely, commit each tiny new snippet of info to memory. Leaning forward slightly, an elbow pressing against a leg, Loki’s earned the full of his attentions.

Even if he frowns in tandem with what he’s currently hearing.]

That isn’t surprising. A war that ran that long, and with that many casualties, leaves an indelible bias that might never disappear from the social consciousness of this world. Any large cooperation even considering the re-development of AI life would be taking a risk that most would consider... too dangerous.

[It feels wrong, talking about this in such an empirical way, even if the words don’t reflect the unease that clenches tight around his ribs simply by thinking of it. This place, this awful future so departed from his own Detroit, stands for everything Markus tries so hard to avoid back home.

He pauses, and continues.]

That isn’t to say there aren’t ungovernable minds out there, flirting with the idea of developing advanced AI all over again. You did say large corporations.

[There’s more freedom to act under less scrutiny, after all.]