“The AI Titan’s gilded age”
The history of Kronos Robotics, the dominating manufacturer of consumer androids and automation technologies, is a tangled web of perfectly executed business strategies, product launches, hostile-takeovers, and PR cover-ups. After years of research, interviews with former employees, and a substantial amount of speculation, we can now piece together the confidential details of the tech giant’s rise to power.
Origins
Founded in 2025, Kronos’ origins were arguably altruistic: developing prostheses and bionic limbs. In cooperation with several non-profit and relief organizations, the company appeared a far cry from the ruthless corporations of the early 21st century. But shortly after its founding, this titan’s true nature reared its power-hungry head. After only a few years pursuing their original goal, the company began acquiring hundreds of start-ups with the slightest interest in robotics technology, artificial intelligence, and automation.
By the early 2030’s their umbrella had ballooned to include over 60 child companies. While experts assumed this was simply a tech-focused investment plan, in many cases research and assets were scrapped, abandoned, absorbed, or otherwise re-allocated to fall in line with Kronos’ interests and their long-term goal of cornering the AI market.
Research and Embezzlement
By the turn of the decade, Kronos had shifted its focus from gathering start-ups and production teams to poaching or outbidding public sector research teams and building a mountain of intellectual property. Most notable were the acquisition of several public and privately funded robotic, technology, and computer science universities; since these were all purchased through shell corporations or via clandestine takeover bids it hardly turned heads at the time.
In recent years, it has come to light that students’ contracts with these universities included a clause granting sole ownership of all essays, research papers, theses, and other student materials to Kronos Robotics. This landfall of academic resources, which we can only assume was diverted to Kronos Robotics’ research and development teams, laid the groundwork for their development of humanoid robotics and artificial intelligence.
This research came not a moment too soon, as other tech companies started to put out the first consumer androids. If Kronos were to master this market, it would have to move soon.
I, Android
Kronos’ initial foray into the android market in 2049 was unimpressive, barely competing with the myriad of other start-ups and corporations attempting to capture the largest market share. Kronos’ first android, the “Model K”, acquired the nickname “bug eyes” since it tended to stare blankly into space, unsettling users; its other moniker was “the thousand-yard fail”.
Conquest on the picket lines
This lackluster showing was hardly surprising, as a decade earlier they triggered the worst spike of mass-unemployment in modern history. While their competitors were striving to perfect the earliest iterations of androids, Kronos devoted its time and resources to perfecting the art of the automated workforce.
The Kronos general strike of 2035, and the resulting lay-off of over 95% of their workforce, meant that nearly every function of Kronos Robotics, from manufacturing to business operations, was now performed by Kronos’ own products. This competitive edge meant that although “bug eyes” was no major innovation over other first-generation androids, their salary costs were practically zero. Additionally, since Kronos had spent decades absorbing any and all automation patents, they were able to deny their competitors these cost-cutting technologies.
Silicon Dominance
Given their advantages, by the mid-2050’s Kronos had grown to dominate the market. Having automated their entire workforce aside from indispensable management (though a large part of even this labor is managed by Kronos’ own AI), other companies simply couldn’t compete.
The future of Kronos, like its namesake, will be Titanic: there is no doubt that they will dominate this field, and much of AI technology, for decades to come. But how will their actions shape our future? If Kronos’ ads are to be believed it will be bright, utopian, every household served by an untiring and benevolent servant.
But there are stirrings of discontent at this titan’s feet: concerns that these devices are shaping our lives, perhaps even spying on us, in subtle ways; or that exploiting androids may not be as ethically neutral as we all hoped. Kronos, for all its wealth and power, is just a company. Even titans may fall.