system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Star Trek] Why are there so few artificial lifeforms and AIs running around?

As far as I know, the only forms of artificial life are the androids designed by Noonien Soong, the "machine race" from the V-ger incident, and the occasional self-aware holodeck program.

What is it about the Star Trek universe that gives rise to so few AIs/artificial lifeforms compared to other scifi universes?
gpt
There are several factors.

One is that functioning, stable, artificial lifeforms are very difficult to produce. Dr. Soong's android Data is the only known fully autonomous artificial being that isn't either dangerous to biological life (like his brother Lore), or prone to catastrophic malfunction (like his daughter Lal). Records of the encounter with the androids associated with Harcourt Fenton Mudd indicate that they are both dangerous, plotting to take over the galaxy and "protect" humanity by effectively enslaving us, and fragile, capable of being destroyed by simple conversational logic loops. Research tends to indicate that, left to its own devices, artificial intelligence has a habit of spinning into one neurosis or another, and that placing such intelligence in an autonomous body causes even an even greater likelihood of malfunction.

Another issue is that the Federation is highly cautious about the ethical dangers of creating artificial beings. The transcripts of the trial of Lt. Commander Data are an excellent real world exploration of the subject, and there have been huge amounts of further discussion on the topic. In essence, the danger is that we would create artificial life, and then enslave it. The incident involving the exocomps is also worth looking at. In that instance, there were robots designed for hazardous work, but with the ability to learn. They spontaneously generated a form of sentience and a sense of self-preservation. This indicates that, given the proper conditions, it is possible for a low-functioning machine intelligence to grow to a higher-functioning one. Again, we run up against issues of both the rights of sentient beings, and the dangers of allowing machine intelligence to develop. It is possible that, if allowed, the exocomps could have developed into friendly machine life. It is also quite possible that they could have developed into incredibly dangerous machine life. 

The fact of the matter is, machine intelligence is an almost impossible balancing act. On the upper side of intelligence and complexity, you have machines that spin up into neurosis and malfunction. On the lower side, you have machines that aren't intelligent enough to serve any useful function, and are essentially dependent on their caretakers. In either case, machine intelligence carries more costs than benefits. Well-adjusted artificial beings, like Data, are almost totally unheard of, because that balance is so difficult to reach.