I may be paranoid; but not an android.

That's right. In the mid to late 20th century, an unidentifiable extraterrestrial being hung over Earth for several days. Then it delivered... a gift. A meteor struck Panama, luckily nowhere near civilization. It contained unusual technology, which took engineers from all around the globe years to understand and decipher. When they finally figured out, it laid out groundwork for a complex Artificial Intelligence like no other man-made technology. Fuck you ChatGPT.

The first robot to have the alien technology incorporated was commonly dubbed "The Corinth". It spoke in strange riddles, though it commonly warned people of Earth that they were not gods, and they were not to toy with life. Ten years after its creation, The Corinth vanished. Some rumored it was lost in the ocean during transport, which made little sense, but there was hardly any other explanation. People had replicated copies of the parts used to build The Corinth, so not much was lost. Technology continued to advance, until Corinthians could be easily produced. They usually did not have bodies, however, and the few that did were not perceived as individuals.

This would change, but not in a pleasant way.

During the Empyrean War, a 4 year international dispute and 5 years after Corinthians became a thing, all existing units were ordered to either submit themselves to their countries or become terminated (permanent destruction). Corinthians were utilized rather than real people, since they did not technically have valuable lives, if any at all. They became mass-produced, partially developed and other functional issues that came with being rushed. Since they were capable of thinking for themselves, they were often left alone to manage each other, though of course the humans ensured their orders were met and that the units did not tear themselves apart.