Re: (spoilers) Remnant Theory

Well, an AI is not stricly needed to operate remtech. Ryder does it without SAM towards the end. It comes at a cost but then it's done rather forcibly of course. Given time and enough mental strength a living being could learn to operate this tech.

The AI is just a short cut if you will, which is needed for the story since the story can't really span 20 years of learning to operate remtech in a safe way.