10 Most Evil A.I. In Video Game History

by Jess McDonell

1. SHODAN - System Shock Series

Shodan systenm shock
OtherSide Austin

As far as iconic and infamous video game AI antagonists go, SHODAN really is the one to beat.

Shockingly removing the ethical restraints on the space station’s primary AI turns out to be a really bad idea. It’s a battle of wits, intelligence, technology, and time as you try to outmanoeuvre the AI who always seems to be one step ahead of you. SHODAN can, and will, murder and mutate space station inhabitants to throw at you, all in the pursuit of her master plan to stamp out life on earth. If you want to be even more freaked out, SHODAN originated an innocent enough AI designed to help with research. So let’s keep those ethical constraints on any AI we make in future, yeah?

Don’t worry though, you totally get her by the end of System Shock. Only to find out she’s created an alien race run on a hive mind in System Shock 2. Damnit.

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Jess has been a journalist and content creator in the games industry for over 15 years and has been WhatCulture's resident Australian import and sorry cop since 2020, upping the quotient of swearing and apologising in WhatCulture Gaming's annual blooper videos considerably. She previously worked at GameSpot for 10 years, most notably hosting GameSpot News in addition to E3 live shows, and PAX panels. She regularly livestreams a variety of games on her 'jessmcdonell' YouTube and Twitch channels and hosts the 'Do It On The Day' podcast. She has won awards for her news and feature work in gaming as well as an accolade for her comedic writing (likely an admin error). She can be found on X at @jessmcdonell and Instagram at @jessicamcdonell sharing her current videogame fixations, industry insights, and videos of her cat, Karma.