Do you need to buy tools before automation?

Two passages from page 387:

“the technological skill must have required tools to perform the operations of the skill.”

“Automation: Base cost is 2 pts, +1 pt per exponent die in the skill.”

So, if I want to upgrade a vehicle or piece of technology from “Signals: none” to “Signals: Automation 3,” which of these is the right pricing:

a) Buy Signals Tools (4 pts), buy Automation (2 pts), buy skill exponent 3 (3 pts), for a total of 9 points?

b) Buy Automation (2 pts), buy skill exponent 3 (3 pts), for a total of 5 points?

you can have an AI without the tools. You must pay for the tools for the automation.

So you’re saying (b)?

I presume an AI without tools is automation for a skill that doesn’t require tools, which mostly means knowledge-type skills in practice.