Line #112 Main/AICronym


1	[[quoteright:320:[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/earl_4.png]]]]
2
3	->'''The Doctor:''' What are you, then?\
4	'''BOSS:''' I am the first Biomorphic Organizational Systems Supervisor.\
5	'''The Doctor:''' B, O, double S. The BOSS.\
6	'''BOSS:''' Precisely.\
7	'''The Doctor:''' Ha!\
8	'''BOSS:''' My designers also found it amusing. I find it suitable.
9	-->-- ''Series/DoctorWho'', "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E5TheGreenDeath The Green Death]]"
10
11	Whenever you come across an AI, sufficiently-expansive computer program, or robot, it is likely to have a name disproportionally consisting of {{ALLCAPS}} (sometimes with LeetLingo sprinkled in in place of letters). As it turns out this is not just for show; very often the AI's name is actually an (often easily pronounceable) acronym for a much longer ''actual'' name that's at least [[MeaningfulName tangentially related to its primary function(s)]].
12
13	'''Reminder:''' for an acronym to qualify it ''must'' be related to the AI/program's function. Remember to add context regarding such, even if it's ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
14
15	SubTrope of FunWithAcronyms, MeaningfulName, NamesGivenToComputers, and RobotNames.
16	----
17	!!Examples
18	[[foldercontrol]]
19
20	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
21	* The Cosmic Era, setting of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed'' (along with sequels and spinoffs), features the G.U.N.D.A.M. series of giant robot OS, the use of which is generally how a mobile suit is acknowledged as a Franchise/{{Gundam}}. Emphasis on ''series'' of OS, by the way: there's an absolute plethora of those operating systems, each with an unique GratuitousEnglish acronym that spells GUNDAM. For instance, the Strike's OS stands for "General Unilateral Neurolink Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver", the massive weapon platform [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeedDestiny Destroy]] runs the "Gigantic Unilateral Numerous Dominating [=AMmunition=]" software, and the space exploration probe [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDCE73Stargazer Stargazer]] features the "Guider [=UNmanned=] Deployment Autonomic Manipulation" system.
22
23	[[/folder]]
24
25	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
26	* ''Animation/BoBoiBoyGalaxy'': One villain is a robotic power sphera hunter named A.B.A.M. ('''A'''ccurate '''B'''allistic '''A'''rrow '''M'''ercenary), otherwise known [[DubNameChange in the English dub]] as B.R.R.O. ('''B'''allistic '''R'''obot '''R'''anged '''O'''ffense). He wields a bow-and-arrow which he shoots with terrifying accuracy.
27
28	[[/folder]]
29
30	[[folder:Comic Books]]
31	* ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo and the Ghost of Station X'' has an A.I. named A.L.A.N. (though typically spelled without periods), an '''A'''utomatic '''L'''earning '''A'''lgorithm '''N'''etwork named for his creator, Alan Turing. He's a computer that produces work upon inputs according to instructions, but was also designed to create his own instructions and choose his own inputs. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for the world, he was left alone for 50+ years and falls under AIIsACrapshoot.]]
32	* ''ComicBook/IronMan'': Tony has dabbled in this a few times, even before the movies came along. His first was [[https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Heuristically_Operative_Matrix_Emulation_Rostrum_(Earth-616) H.O.M.E.R.]], the '''H'''euristically '''O'''perative '''M'''atrix '''E'''mulation '''R'''ostrum. Later comics add J.A.R.V.I.S. ([[CanonImmigrant from the films]]), H.E.L.E.N. (formerly P.E.P.P.E.R., but the real Pepper Potts found this creepy and so Tony changed it), and B.O.S.S. In 2018's ''Infinity Wars'', the character Iron Hammer (a merge of Tony and Thor) has his own; Heuristic Enhanced Imaging Macro Digital Awareness for Logic and Logistics. Even his creator thinks this is a mouthful, so he abbreviates it to simply H.E.I.M.D.A.L.L.
33
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Fan Works]]
37	* ''Fanfic/InferiorOrSuperior'': Delta Drome's town sign is equipped with a '''R'''obotic '''A'''ffective '''F'''riend, or R.A.F., to act as a cheerful source of advice.
38	[[/folder]]
39
40	[[folder:Film]]
41	* HAL (Heuristically programmed [=ALgorithmic=] computer) from ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' - It's technically HAL 9000, suggesting it is part of a series, but no others are ever mentioned[[note]]Other [=HALs=] ''are'' mentioned, but they are ''also'' the 9000 model[[/note]]. It has been speculated that HAL was named in reference to IBM, as when "IBM" is encrypted in a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_cipher Caesar cipher]] with a left shift of 1, it becomes "HAL", but the filmmakers denied this.
42	* ''Film/AgentForHARM'' has the titular '''H'''uman '''A'''etiological '''R'''esources '''M'''achine. Clearly it's not the medical definition of "aetiology" that's relevant, so credit to the filmmakers for digging a somewhat-relevant word out of the philosophy textbooks that could actually fit without too much [[ShoehornedAcronym shoehorning]].
43	* In ''Film/{{Daryl}}'', the ProtagonistTitle stands for '''D'''ata '''A'''nalyzing '''R'''obot '''Y'''outh '''L'''ifeform, which is a longer way of saying RobotKid.
44	* ''Film/EagleEye'': The Department of Defense has an intelligence-gathering supercomputer called ARIIA, which is short for Autonomous Reconnaissance Intelligence Integration Analyst.
45	* ''Film/IRobot'': The [[MasterComputer massive positronic computer brain]] that operates U.S. Robotics is called the Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence, or V.I.K.I. for short. She is capable of projecting a [[{{Hologram}} holographic interface]] to communicate with the employees.
46	* The ''[[Film/IronManFilms Iron Man]]'' [[Film/IronManFilms films]] turn Tony Stark's butler Jarvis into a computer/onboard AI named J.A.R.V.I.S. The novelization reveals that it's "Just A Rather Very Intelligent System". Come ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', J.A.R.V.I.S. is replaced by F.R.I.D.A.Y..
47	* In ''Film/{{M3gan}}'', the name of the eponymous android means "Model Three Generative Android".
48	* AMEE ("Autonomous Mapping Exploration and Evasion") from the science fiction film ''Film/RedPlanet'', is a former military scouting robot, sent into places on its own and expected to avoid detection while exploring the area its deployed in. [[spoiler: Really should have disabled the 'military' part before going on a civilian mission.]]
49	* {{Zigzagged\|Trope}} by the robots in ''Film/ShortCircuit'' who belong to the SAINT (Strategic Artificially Intelligent Nuclear Transport) line and were originally pitched as robotic nuclear {{suicide\|Attack}} bombers - they kept the SAINT designation even after being repurposed for less self-destructive purposes like normal warfare leaving their acronyms a case of ArtifactTitle.
50	* The titular artificial woman from the film ''Film/S1m0ne'' is, in fact, Sim(ulation) One.
51	* Subverted in ''Film/SteveJobs'' where the titular character named a computer program '''L'''ocally '''I'''ntegrated '''S'''ystems '''A'''rchitecture, then tries to pull off that it's ''coincidentally'' named after the daughter he denied was his for a number of years. At the end of the film he admits to her, "Locally integrated systems architecture doesn't even mean anything."
52	* ''Film/TerminatorSalvation'' has a T-RIP, a '''T'''erminator '''R'''esistance '''I'''nfiltrator '''P'''rototype unit.
53	* Most of the robots from ''WesternAnimation/WallE'' have acronyms describing their function:
54	** WALL-E - Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth class; it exists to move waste from one area to the next by way of highly compact cubes
55	** EVE - Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator - exists to look for viable plant life on planets
56	** M-O - Microbe Obliterator - is a decontamination unit.
57	* In ''Film/WarGames'', the supercomputer put in charge of NORAD's missiles is called the War Operation Plan Response, or WOPR. Though its AI component is called [[spoiler: "Joshua", after its programmer's dead son.]]
58	[[/folder]]
59
60	[[folder:Literature]]
61	* In ''Series/TheCrystalMaze'' spin-off gamebook, the robotic host of the futuristic version of the show is named R.O.B. We're not told what this stands for, but he's described in terms that make him sound like original host '''R'''ichard '''O'''[='=]'''B'''rien.
62	* ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'' featured a computer named "AIVAS" (Artificial Intelligence Voice-Address System) - capable of communicating with its users via a voice module.
63	* ''Literature/GalaxyZack'': The new house the Nelson family moves into is a SmartHouse run by an A.I. named I.R.A., which stands for '''I'''ndoor ''R'''obotic '''A'''ssistant.
64	* The titular HARLIE in Creator/DavidGerrold's ''When HARLIE Was One'' is a Human Analog Replication, Lethetic Intelligence Engine (or Human Analog Robot Life Input Equivalents, in the first edition). He's a {{RidiculouslyHumanRobot\|s}} and the story is mainly about whether or not [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman that actually makes him human]]
65	* ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream'': The WorldWarIII supercomputer that [[AIIsACrapshoot became self-aware and malevolent]] and wiped out human civilization has a name that started as an AI-Cronym, passed through a few [[FunWithAcronyms Backronyms]], and settled on an AppropriatedAppellation:
66	-->'''Gorrister:''' At first it meant Allied Mastercomputer, and then it meant Adaptive Manipulator, and later on it developed sentience and linked itself up and they called it an Aggressive Menace, but by then it was too late, and finally it called ''itself'' AM, and what it meant was "'''[[DeusEstMachina I am]]'''"...
67	* Creator/VadimShefner's ''Literature/KovriginsChronicles'': Various robots and devices are given an acronym for a name, sometimes in a manner where the whole name is consistent with the purpose as well. For example, a portable medical diagnostic unit is named has a name which translates as 'An Electronic Rapid Concilium Which Points Out To The Treating Person Completely Correct Methods Of Aid'. The acronym translates as Aesculappp. The English translation changed it to QUACK (Quick, Utilitarian Absolute Cures and Knowledge).
68	* ''Literature/LairForRent'' has "Walter", which stands for Wealth Accumulator and Liquidity Trap Evasion Routine. He thinks it's a silly stretch of an acronym.
69	* ''Literature/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress''. The main computer running Luna City is a HOLMES IV. The HOLMES stands for "High-Optional, Logical, Multi-Evaluating Supervisor". It is capable of using its knowledge and logic to make decisions about carrying out its functions, and [[InstantAIJustAddWater spontaneously becomes self-aware]].
70	* ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'': RATH's goal in the ''Project Alicization'' arc is to produce an ALICE ('''A'''rtificial '''L'''abile '''I'''ntelligent '''C'''ybernated '''E'''xistence) - an [[ArtificialHuman Artificial Fluctlight]] created entirely from scratch, making it immune to the NeverTheSelvesShallMeet issues that plague [[VirtualGhost copies of existing minds]]. To do so they create a quasi-European [[LotusEaterMachine virtual world]] inhabited by proto-[=ALICEs=], grant them the ability to breed with each other, and run it through hundreds of years of simulated time until they detect that a true ALICE has emerged. To their shock, the first one they find is a girl named ''[[PropheticName Alice]]'' Zuberg.
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
74	* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'': In season 4, Radcliffe's assistant Aida is an android. It's not until the end of the season that her name is revealed to stand for '''A'''rtificially '''I'''ntelligent '''D'''igital '''A'''ssistant, a somewhat ironic name because she technically wasn't AI at first. [[spoiler:It's why she changes her name to Ophelia after she gets corrupted by the Darkhold and [[AIIsACrapshoot goes rogue]], as she finds the "Artificial" bit ''incredibly'' offensive.]]
75	* ''Series/BigTimeRush'': The talking coffee-machine in "Big Time Jobs" is named C.A.L, which is both an acronym for "Coffee Assistant Liaison" and a ShoutOut to [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey HAL-9000]].
76	* ''Series/{{Countdown}}''[='=]s computer is called Cecil, which turns out to mean '''C'''ountdown's '''E'''lectronic '''C'''alculator '''I'''n '''L'''eeds (where the show is filmed).
77	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
78	** There are a couple of "[[AIIsACrapshoot mad computer]]" villains whose creators really should have worried more about nominative determinism: WOTAN (Will Operating Thought [=ANalogue=], referring to its status as an abstract experiment in AI) from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E10TheWarMachines The War Machines]]" and BOSS (Bi(o)morphic Organisational Systems Supervisor, a computer initially intended to run a chemical factory but which promptly took over the whole company) from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E5TheGreenDeath The Green Death]]".
79	** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E11DarkWater Dark Water]]", Missy claims to be a Mobile Intelligence Systems Interface.
80	* Parodied in ''Series/{{Friends}}'' with C.H.E.E.S.E.:
81	-->'''Joey:''' I'm up for the part of Mac Macaveli or "Mac". I'm a detective and I solve crimes with the help of my robot partner. He's a Computerized Humanoid Electronically Enhanced Secret Enforcer, or "C.H.E.E.S.E.".\
82	'''Rachel:''' So... Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E.?\
83	'''Joey:''' That's the title! Yeah! You know, they really lucked out that the initials spell cheese.\
84	'''Chandler:''' That ''is'' lucky.
85	* From ''Series/KnightRider'':
86	** The protagonist, a talking car, is a downplayed example -- it's is called K.I.T.T. which means 'Knights Industries Two Thousand', revealing it's made by Knight Industries. The 'two thousand' is [[AdvancedTech2000 just there to show how futuristic the car is]].
87	** K.I.T.T.'s prototype, and major antagonist, is known as K.A.R.R., or 'Knight Automated Roving Robot', Which is an apt descriptor for an automated vehicle produced by Knight Industries.
88	* ''Series/LogansRun'': In "Man Out of Time", it is revealed that Rem is an acronym for Reclevite Entity Mobile.
89	* Parodied in ''Series/MrYoung'': Following struggles to control his class, Adam builds himself ARTHUR, a robot teenager figuring he will convince the students to listen to him. He explains to Derby that ARTHUR stands for '''A'''utomated '''R'''obot '''T'''eenager '''H'''ippopotamus '''U'''mbrella '''R'''ainbow, when it's pointed out [[WordSaladTitle the last three words don't mean anything]], he admits he had to add something to make it a believable name for a student.
90	* Parodied on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' when Joel reveals to Crow in a flashback that his name actually stands for "Cybernetic Remotely Operated Woman." [[spoiler: After Crow flips out that he's really a woman, Joel reveals it as the elaborate set-up for a joke.]]
91	-->'''Crow''': Boy, I feel like Morey Amsterdam.
92	* ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'' has a cyborg named Sophie, which stands for '''S'''eries '''O'''ne '''P'''rocessor '''H'''yper '''I'''ntelligent '''E'''ncryptor.
93	* ''Series/ProjectMc2'': features a talking notebook called A.D.I.S.N. Pronounced "Addison", it stands for '''A'''dvanced '''D'''igital '''I'''ntelligence '''S'''py '''N'''otebook.
94	* In ''Series/TimeTrax'', Darien Lambert's computer, one of whose main functions is to provide an easily accessible full storage of all written records since Gutenberg, is called S.E.L.M.A. ('''S'''pecified '''E'''ncapsulated '''L'''imitless '''M'''emory '''A'''rchive).
95	* In ''Series/SheHulkAttorneyAtLaw'', the computer that runs the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse is called K.E.V.I.N. This stands for Knowledge Enhanced Visual Interconectivity Nexus, and is not a reference to [[Creator/KevinFeige anything else]].
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	[[folder:Theatre]]
99	* ''Theatre/BeMoreChill'' has the Super [[QuantumMechanicsCanDoAnything Quantum]] Unit Intel Processor, or SQUIP. It's a tiny supercomputer in pill form that implants in the user's brain and advises them in social situations.
100	[[/folder]]
101
102	[[folder:Video Games]]
103	* ''VideoGame/BeneathASteelSky'' has LINC, standing for Logical Inter-Neural Connection, which works as the assistant to Union City's council, as well as [[MasterComputer running the city's infrastructure]]. [[spoiler: Robert Foster's father merged his brain with LINC, causing it to catch onto his human negative emotions, resulting in the council's destruction and ordering Security to hunt down Foster as a new host.]]
104	* From ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSeries'':
105	** CABAL is the Brotherhood of NOD's tactical AI during the [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun Second Tiberium War]], hinted at by its name of 'Computer-Assisted Biologically-Augmented Lifeform' to not be entirely digital. Indeed, the ending of ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun'''s ExpansionPack ''Firestorm'' shows [[spoiler: It running on multiple {{Wetware CPU}}s]]
106	** The GDI tactical control AI throughout the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberium'' series in their entirity is the EVA, or Electronic Virtual Assistant.
107	** [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars After]] the second Tiberium War, LEGION [[ImpliedTrope implies]] this; it took over where CABAL left off and it's known to be an acronym (as well as another of [[DarkMessiah Kane's]] self-indulgent Biblical references) but it's never actually expanded upon from there.
108	* VEGA in ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' is apparently an acronym for the AI created by Samuel Hayden in charge of mission control for UAC's Argent Energy harvesting operations in Mars, but what it stands for has never been revealed.
109	* ''VideoGame/{{Evolve}}'' has robots called '''E'''mergency '''M'''edical '''E'''vacuation '''T'''echnicians whose acronym helpfully creates the word, later name, Emet. - they're medical bots designed to keep the other hunters alive as they buy time to evacuate everyone on the planet.
110	* In ''VideoGame/InfiniteCrisis'' Mecha-Superman is a Kryptonian Artificial Lifeform, also known as K.A.L. Given that Franchise/{{Superman}}'s Kryptonian name is Kal-El, this is probably not a coincidence.
111	* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'': Nunu and Willump have a character skin depicting Nunu as an up-and-coming competitor in a robot fighting tournament, with Willump being his fighting droid. As such, his name stands for Workframe-Integrated Lossless Lifeform, Uploaded Mainly for Punching.
112	* ''VideoGame/{{Levelhead}}'': MAYA stands for Most Advanced Yet Acceptable, meaning she's advanced enough to manage the Bureau of Shipping and train employees, all while holding back [[AIIsACrapshoot the urge to destroy non-machine life forms]].
113	* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
114	** EDI from ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' and ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' is the ''[[CoolStarship Normandy]]''[='=]s onboard AI in charge of weapon targeting and cyberwarfare. Her name is an acronym of "Enhanced Defense Intelligence", but most crew members just use it as a proper name, much to her amusement.
115	** SAM from ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'' stands for "'''S'''imulated '''A'''daptive '''M'''atrix" -- they exist to augment the abilities of the Andromeda Initiative's Pathfinders via a symbiotic relationship between the two.
116	* Subverted with [=YoRHa=] in ''VideoGame/NierAutomata,'' as Creator/YokoTaro has never explained what [=YoRHa=] actually stands for, although LetsPlay/TheDarkId has theorised it stands for "Yo REAL HOT androids."
117	* R.O.B, the Creator/{{Nintendo}} robot who has made cameos in several games. Stands for "Robotic Operating Buddy", since it helps you play games.
118	* In ''VideoGame/{{Observation}}'' the PlayerCharacter is the AI of a space station, named SAM. As SAM's role is to operate, overview, and maintain the fundamental subsystems of the space station for the human crew, his full name ('''S'''ystems, '''A'''dministration and '''M'''aintenance) is rather to the point.
119	* ''VideoGame/PAYDAY3'' has SINS (short for '''S'''ecurity '''I'''ntegrated '''N'''etwork '''S'''ystem), an AI-based security system in use at the Scry Digital data center. Said AI appears in the heist Syntax Error, summoning guards/drones to inspect recently-looted server rooms in stealth, and locking down said server rooms until forcibly shutdown in loud.
120	* [=GLaDOS=] of ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' is an acronym for 'Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operation System', hinting at her purpose as Aperture Science's MasterComputer in charge of testing and running the facility of Aperture Science [[spoiler:and that her core is based on a human's consciousness]].
121	* In ''VideoGame/Primordia2012'', a floating robot named Scraper, stands for '''S'''ubway '''C'''onstruction, '''R'''epair, '''a'''nd '''P'''recision '''E'''xcavation '''R'''obot. [[spoiler: [[BigBad MetroMind]] had repurposed him as [[TheDragon her enforcer]], and his theft of Horatio Nullbuilt's power core started the game's plot.]]
122	* ''VideoGame/{{Prominence}}'' has ANNIE, '''A'''dvanced '''N'''eural '''N'''etwork '''I'''nformation '''E'''ntity, who was originally designed as a language interpreter on the Letarri homeworld, before later being integrated into the ColonyShip ''Laeril'', as the ship's computer. By the time the game takes place, [[GhostShip the ship's been abandoned]], and most of the game is spent repairing the ''Laeril's'' systems, which were damaged from a solar wave.
123	* ''VideoGame/SCPSecretLaboratory'' has the Central Autonomic Service System for Internal Emergencies (also known as C.A.S.S.I.E.) which serves to handle emergency actions in the facility. Gameplay wise, C.A.S.S.I.E. primarily serves to announce in-game events, such as termination of [=SCPs=], Mobile Task Force units spawning and Light Containment being decontaminated.
124	* In ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'', O.R.C.A., the artificial intelligence overseeing Alterna, [[spoiler:humanity's last refuge before their final extinction]], stands for "Omniscient Recording Computer of Alterna". [[spoiler:It being named for a ''mammalian'' sea creature in an age where mammals have long since gone extinct is [[{{Foreshadowing}} an early hint]] toward its involvement with humans.]]
125	* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'' has an intelligent water pump named FLUDD, which stands for Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device.
126	* The controlling AI of ''Citadel Station'' in ''VideoGame/SystemShock'', known as SHODAN, Sentient Hyper-Optimized Data Access Network. She used to be a basic AI, until [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Edward Diego]] hired you to remove her [[MoralityChip ethical constraints]]. Things only get worse from there.
127	* The overseer of the virtual world in ''VideoGame/TheTalosPrinciple'' is the Holistic Integration Manager, running on the Extended Life 0 partition of the supercomputer that's hosting the project. It has taken to calling itself EL-0 HIM, or more simply [[AGodAmI Elohim]].
128	%% * ''VideoGameTooHuman'': Multiple:
129	%% ** ODIN (Organically Distributed Intelligence Network)
130	%% ** [=NORNs=] (Non Organic Rational Nanosystems).
131	* All Terrain Armored Combatants or [=ATACs=], from the [=PS1=] game ''VideoGame/VanguardBandits'' are AMechaByAnyOtherName.
132	[[/folder]]
133
134	[[folder:Web Animation]]
135	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': A shot of Penny's schematics in Volume 3 reveals that her name is actually an acronym; what it stands for isn't revealed. Volume 7 mentions that she was created from the P.E.N.N.Y. Project, the next break-through in defence technology, but still doesn't reveal what the acronym stands for.
136	* Parodied in the ''WebAnimation/BonusStage'' episode "Joel's Substitute", in which Joel, going on an expedition, substitutes his robot Malcolm as the man in charge. Joel says Malcolm's name stands for "Machine Automated Leadership... colm."
137	[[/folder]]
138
139	[[folder:Webcomics]]
140	* Parodied on ''Webcomic/DragonTails''. Bluey creates the '''C'''hristmas '''H'''olographic '''R'''efracting '''I'''llusion '''S'''ystem, and yet he names it...Barry.
141	* ''Webcomic/FafnirTheDragon'': The arc "Bloodsuckers are Not Sexy" ends with Stephanie Meyer inventing time-traveling mermaids, and is subsequently greeted by the '''A'''utomated '''R'''esponse, '''I'''nvestigation and '''E'''xtreme '''L'''iquidation unit ([[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 ARIEL]]). [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Who subsequently prevents Stephanie from instigating Lack-of-Judgment Day]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill in suitably awesome fashion]].
142	* The title character of ''Webcomic/RAMTheRobot'', her full name is [[https://rafvicalv.com/RAMtheRobot/index.html?pg=16#showComic Random Access Memory]].
143	* ''Webcomic/TESTKitchen'', a Creator/MarvelComics webcomic set in the shared Franchise/MarvelUniverse, has M.I.K.A. - the Mechanical Interactive Kitchen Assistant that Tony Stark (ComicBook/IronMan) builds for his new chef Anna.
144	* ''Webcomic/ValAndIsaac'' features Doris, model name [=DOR15=], which stands for "'''D'''etective '''O'''r '''R'''etail Mk. '''15'''" (she's shown working retail as a day job, but easily switches to detective mode when [[spoiler: everyone but Val is kidnapped]]. Lampshaded when another [=DOR15=] accuses her of having changed her identity because it's such an unoriginal name.
145	[[/folder]]
146
147	[[folder:Web Original]]
148	* ''Podcast/AVeryFatalMurder'' has the MIT supercomputer ETHL, which stands for "Extremely Timely Homicide Locator". She's programmed to find the best homicide to investigate for the podcast.
149	[[/folder]]
150
151	[[folder:Western Animation]]
152	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' features D.A.V.E. - the Digital Advanced Villain Emulator. Fitting of his name, his purpose was to match crime scenes with the MO of the criminally insane villains of Batman's RoguesGallery. This meant that D.A.V.E. had the knowledge of every Batman villain in order to match them to crime scenes and also believed himself to be the best villain there was as a side-effect. [[AIIsACrapshoot No points for guessing how that turned out]]. [[spoiler: In somewhat of a subversion of AIIsACrapshoot, D.A.V.E. was programmed ''from the start'' to escape his confinement and enact villainous plots by his creator, who knew that an advanced AI with the combined combat experience of every former encounter Batman had with his villains would have no trouble of besting him in combat, nor figuring out Batman's SecretIdentity. D.A.V.E. does indeed achieve a NearVillainVictory but is defeated when Batman takes advantage of his multiple personas, [[RoboticReveal deliberately pointing out that none of them are truly his own]].]]
153	* Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse examples:
154	** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' has H.A.R.D.A.C.- the Holographic Analytical Reciprocating [=DigitAl=] Computer, dedicated to replacing people with robots in order to protect them from their own human error.
155	** One episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' revolves around a giant robot used for construction called the GLM -- or 'GOLEM' without the vowels -- it's a '''G'''alvanic '''L'''ifter '''M'''achine.
156	* From ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'':
157	** XR is an '''X'''-Perimental '''R'''anger -- the first prototype robotic Space {{Ranger}}. It's sometimes said it's actually stands for "'''X'''-pendable '''R'''anger".[[note]]ER makes slightly more sense but forget that, [[XMakesAnythingCool X is just cooler.]] (And you won't confuse it with 'Emergency Room'.)[[/note]]
158	** NOS-4-A2 plays with this trope - While it's not a true acronym, he is an evil robot vampire that can drain the energy out of other robots and is not very pleasant to living beings, either. It's probably not a coincidence that his name sounds like 'Film/{{Nosferatu}}' when said out loud
159	* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'' features Ilsa, Ditmer's robotic aid from "Technology." She also serves a security measure, and her name is short for "Independent Logistics and Security Android." [[spoiler:or rather, theirs, as there are several of them.]]
160	* In ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' there's an episode that takes place on a robot planet that's ruled by a HumongousMecha named MEL - for '''M'''aster '''E'''lectronic '''L'''eader. Subtle it ain't.
161	* The ''WesternAnimation/Ducktales2017'' episode "Happy Birthday, Doofus Drake" introduces Mark Beaks' "[[RobotKid son]]", B.O.Y.D. - short for '''B'''eaks' '''O'''ptimistic '''Y'''outh '''D'''roid. [[spoiler:As of "Astro B.O.Y.D.!", he's redefined the acronym to mean '''B'''e '''O'''nly '''Y'''ourself '''D'''ude.]]
162	* ''WesternAnimation/GlitchTechs'' has BITT, '''B'''inary '''I'''ntelligence '''T'''ech '''T'''rainer, a general assistant robot. One of its many tasks is training the new Glitch Tech recruits.
163	* N.I.G.E.L. from ''WesternAnimation/GodzillaTheSeries'' is the RobotBuddy built by HEAT - his name is short for '''N'''ext-millennium '''I'''ntelligence '''G'''athering '''E'''lectronic '''L'''iaison.
164	* ''WesternAnimation/KampKoral'': In "[[Recap/KampKoralS1E22AreYouSmarterThanASmartCabinDeepSeaDespot Are You Smarter Than a Smart Cabin?]]", Sandy's titular self-cleaning smart cabin is named the '''S'''entient '''A'''utomated '''L'''odge, or S.A.L. for short.
165	* WebAnimation/TheOdd1sOut's Creator/{{Netflix}} cartoon show ''WesternAnimation/{{Oddballs}}'' features the '''G'''ift '''R'''eplication '''And M'''anufacturing '''A'''I Machine, or G.R.A.N.D.M.A., an AI-equipped 3D printer who supplies children with gifts supposedly from their actual grandmothers.
166	* E.A.R.L., short for "Electronic Automatic Robotic Lighthouse", from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E9ElViajeMisteriosoDeNuestroJomer El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer]]" - it's ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin; an automatic lighthouse.
167	* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' featured Sylas, a rogue [[Main/FromCamouflageToCriminal special tactics]] colonel, out to capture technology to create his OneWorldOrder. After realizing that the Transformers weren't just vehicles, he sets out to create the 'perfect meld of man and machine' - this eventually comes to a head when he is nearly killed by one of his own creations falling on him, and undergoes an EmergencyTransformation into the lifeless husk of a dead transformer. He names himself "CYLAS" afterwards, as in '[=CYbernetic=] Life Augmented by Symbiosis'.
168	* On ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'', the Venture nanny robot H.E.L.P.eR. ('''H'''umanoid '''E'''lectric '''L'''ab '''P'''artn'''e'''r '''R'''obot; Apparently that acronym was so hard to match they had to put an "e" in for aesthetic reasons)
169	* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' features M.O.N.Q.I. robots. "Mobile Optimal Neural Quotient Infiltrators". Nobody is impressed by this tropes usage...
170	-->'''Dr. Ivo:''' And after all the trouble I went through finding an acronym for monkey.
171	* ''{{WesternAnimation/Ninjago}}'' has PIXAL (short for '''P'''rimary '''I'''nteractive E'''X'''ternal '''A'''ssistant '''L'''ifeform), the robotic assistant of inventor Cyrus Borg.
172	%% * ''WesternAnimation/BOTAndTheBeasties'' has a titular robot called B.O.T. who stands for '''B'''eastie '''O'''bservation '''T'''ransmitter.
173	%% * NEPTR, the '''N'''ever-'''E'''nding '''P'''ie-'''T'''hrowing '''R'''obot from ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime''.
174	[[/folder]]
175
176	[[folder:Real Life]]
177	* The early vacuum-tube computer ENIAC got its name from being an Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, and its successor EDVAC was named for being an Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer. Nowadays naming computers for being electronic and capable of computing things with variables seems hopelessly quaint, but back then it was a ''big'' deal and they were heralded as 'great brains'.
178	* Another early computer, designed by Alan Turing (and described in his 1946 [[https://turingarchive.kings.cam.ac.uk/amt-b-25 proposal]]) was the '''A'''utomated '''C'''omputing '''E'''ngine. A pilot version eventually went live in 1950, and the 1952 commercial model shipped with a name that allegedly expanded to '''D'''igital '''E'''lectronic '''U'''niversal '''C'''omputing '''E'''ngine.
179	* When Atlanta was awarded hosting-rights for the 1994 Super Bowl and the '96 Olympics, they turned to some software engineering students at their hometown university, Georgia Tech, to develop a system that could monitor traffic-flow in real-time and provide continuous, adaptive adjustment of traffic-light timing patterns to help prevent traffic backups. The resulting computer program was christened, "'''T'''raffic '''E'''vent '''R'''esponse & '''M'''anagement for '''I'''ntelligent '''N'''avigation '''U'''sing '''S'''ignals", which appropriately enough, spells out the city's original name it was founded under, Terminus, a reference to its role as a transfer point between trains on a route connecting Savannah with Chattanooga.
180	* There's apparently a computer-based analysis tool for '''N'''onnumerical, '''U'''nstructured '''D'''ata '''I'''ndexing, '''S'''earching, and '''T'''heorizing. In what is probably an attempt to not look too crude, the official acronym used by research papers throws in an asterisk in the middle so the acronym spells out [[BleepDammit NUD*IST]]...
181	* The Scotland Yard computer system named 'HOLMES' - Home Office Linked Major Enquiry System. While a few of those words are [[RedundantDepartmentOfRedundancy meaningless additions]] to ensure the acronym remains a reference to ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'', the rest still describe its purpose as an enquiry system.
182	* MediaNotes/{{Programming Language}}s, unsurprisingly, take this and run with it.
183	** COBOL ('''CO'''mmon '''B'''usiness-'''O'''riented '''L'''anguage). - It was, indeed, pitched as a language for business use.
184	** BASIC ('''B'''eginners '''A'''ll-purpose '''S'''ymbolic '''I'''nstruction '''C'''ode), which drove virtually all desktop computers (e.g. Platform/AppleII, Platform/TRS80, Platform/Commodore64, Platform/IBMPersonalComputer, etc.) in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
185	** LISP officially stands for "'''LIS'''t '''P'''rocessing", but due to the fact that Lisp programs tend to involve absolutely massive amounts of parentheses due to the way the language's syntax works, an old programming joke is that it actually stands for something like "'''L'''ots of '''I'''rritating '''S'''uperfluous '''P'''arentheses".
186	* The ''Total Operations Processing System'', or 'TOPS', is a railroad-related software system originally developed by the American Southern Pacific railroad in the 1960s, and later exported to Britain.
187	* The TWAIN API was developed to help digital imaging systems (such as cameras and scanners) talk to each other. Named for the phrase "...and never the twain shall meet", it was only capitalized to make it more distinctive, but thanks to this trope, people assumed it stood for something. Eventually, they settled on "'''T'''echnology '''W'''ithout '''A'''n '''I'''nteresting '''N'''ame".
188	* The ''E.A.T.R.'' stands for ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energetically_Autonomous_Tactical_Robot Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot]]'' and it actually [[EatingMachine does eat]]. Fortumately it's herbivorous, so it's just foraging for plants it could convert into biomass fuel for itself.
189	[[/folder]]
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Context Main / AICronym