AI Dementia is a phenomenon that is apart of the Personalization A.I. in the game Super Mario 64. In cases of Personalization A.I. if the A.I. detects missing data that is either lost or deleted, then the Personalization A.I. will begin removing assets from the game files, and begin a series of phenomena known as AI Dementia. There are some rare cases where entire levels or enemies can be deleted or lost. Losing data can occur from the cartridge being worn out due to the age of the cartridge, tampering with the cartridge via a device, or physical damage on the Cartridge.
Phases of AI Dementia[]
Replacement[]
The way the first phase of AI Dementia starts is when the A.I. slowly noticing that data is slowly being lost from the cartridge. During this phase, the A.I. starts deleting assets from the game. In parallel to this happening, the A.I. replaces the lost assets with different assets, hence the name "Replacement". Since the A.I. is replacing the textures, this can make objects look the same, like the bridges in Bob-Omb Battlefield having the dirt texture, enemies behaving differently, but has the same texture, levels to have the same music, etc. In most cases of AI Dementia, it would usually stop here, with the AI deleting and replacing several assets, then abruptly stopping.
The Downward Spiral[]
However, in fewer cases, the Downward Spiral phase, also the second phase of AI Dementia can happen. This causes the AI Dementia getting worse, causing deletion of full levels. In this phase, it may delete part of the game's engine, rendering the game unplayable. When the A.I. detects that the game is no longer playable, it assumes that the copy is pirated, and displays the Anti-Piracy Screen. However, if the game continues to be running, multiple strange bugs may occur. Not necessarily anomalous phenomena, but things like entities having corrupted animations, objects not having textures, and bugs or glitches occuring throughout the game.
The AI Breaks Down[]
The final phase of AI Dementia currently has no known documentation and can only be speculated about. It is predicted that if the A.I. has deleted most of the game, it would eventually delete itself, causing unknown effects or the game.
