A good read about Shadow Runs AI was just posted.

http://gamasutra.com/blogs/Sheridan...olution_of_TurnBased_AI_in_Shadowrun.php

Every cRPG ever made has probably used a checklist/scripted AI. It's always a human deciding the value of certain things, like in Shadow Run, if health > 50%, then the AI thinks cover is worthless. We of course know that's not the case, but with so many variables and permutations of events that can happen between the choice to take cover and the end of battle, the only way the programmer knows how to evaluate the benefit is for him to input it himself.

You might think sampling. But since the value of the variable isn't measured in isolation, but rather the value of the best strategy the computer can implement, it's value changes in each evolution of the computers strategy. It's still very hard to compute, and outside of games like chess and more recently poker, I don't think an AI like that has existed.

Thus, I think we're stuck with fancy checklists for the indefinite future. Always hoping the developer thought of xyz and made some rational choices regarding it.