K.I.T.T. was conceived and designed by the late Wilton Knight, a brilliant but eccentric billionaire and the founder of the "Foundation for Law and Government", (commonly shortened to "FLAG") and its parent Knight Industries. K.I.T.T.'s main cybernetic processor was first installed in a mainframe computer used by the United States government in Washington D.C. However, Wilton saw better use for "him" in the Foundation's crime-fighting crusade and eventually the system was installed in the vehicle. K.I.T.T. was in fact the second vehicle built by Knight Industries with an artificial intelligence. His predecessor was K.A.R.R., the Knight Automated Roving Robot. K.A.R.R. was programmed for self-preservation, but this proved to be dangerous to the Foundation's interests. K.A.R.R. was later deactivated and placed in storage while K.I.T.T. was given to his new operator Michael Knight (the new identity of Michael Long).