Should robots or AI's really have rights in the future?

[Miss Chicken]

There is strong evidence that elephants have an understanding of death. They will bury or cover elephants (and sometimes other animals) that they know or think are dead. They will revisit the grave. They take a keen interest in the bones of other elephants including the remains of elephants they didn't know.

Elephants have also been known to aid the injured of other species.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Yes, the way the Elephants behave around their dead is very interesting; in particular the way they behave around dead babies and youngsters. They also have a complex social structure that involves the old teaching the young and they take care of their old, weak and injured. They learn complex tasks and have long memories. And they can paint.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

There is strong evidence that elephants have an understanding of death. They will bury or cover elephants (and sometimes other animals) that they know or think are dead. They will revisit the grave. They take a keen interest in the bones of other elephants including the remains of elephants they didn't know.

Elephants have also been known to aid the injured of other species.

Yes, they're very emotional animals. I believe young elephants whose mothers have been shot also suffer from emotional trauma, have nighmares and flashbacks, wake up "crying", that sort of thing.

I also believe there are reports of elephants deliberately warning other animals of human hunters in the area, and even going out of their way to free other species captured by humans.

And at least one elephant I've heard of became a murderer, killing humans deliberately and in a calculated fashion, seemingly motivated by emotion not instinct.

I've always considered them sapient, based on what I've heard.

 

[RJDiogenes]

 

[Deranged Nasat]

^ They're organized, I tell you! Organized!

The most hilarious thing about the elephant murderer was that, apparently, he had a habit of knocking on the door with his trunk, waiting for somewhere to answer and then grabbing them.

So, you'd hear a knock, open the door, say "no sorry, I didn't order an elepha--ARRGGGHHH!!!"

 

[RJDiogenes]

That reminds me of an old Far Side cartoon. I'll see if I can track it down.

 

[JarodRussell]

LOL, from artificial intelligence straight to elephant jokes.

 

[scotpens]

As I believe that there are species (besides humankind) existing on Earth today who would qualify for personhood (the other great apes, elephants, at least some of the cetacean and possibly some of the corvids and psittacines) I have no problem with accepting that some artificial intelligence might qualify in the future.

I can see your point about great apes and elephants. But birds? You'd honestly grant rights to friggin' BIRDS???

^ They're organized, I tell you! Organized!

The most hilarious thing about the elephant murderer was that, apparently, he had a habit of knocking on the door with his trunk, waiting for somewhere to answer and then grabbing them.

So, you'd hear a knock, open the door, say "no sorry, I didn't order an elepha--ARRGGGHHH!!!"

Or he could have pretended to be delivering a CandyGram . . .

 

[scotpens]

. . . I always preferred Asimov's take. I think. It's been so long since I read his robot novels, but as I recall his robots were always perfectly content to be robots, that that wasn't a bad thing.

Good. There's nothing wrong with sentient robots, as long as they know their place. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an uppity clicker!

(Any Creation of the Humanoids fans here?)

 

[Miss Chicken]

I can see your point about great apes and elephants. But birds? You'd honestly grant rights to friggin' BIRDS???

I am specifically thinking about New Caledonian Crows and African Grey Parrots both of which seem to be capable of abstract thinking. New Caledonian Crows seem to be the only non-human species that is capable of inventing new tools by modifying existing tools and then teaching other members of the species to do the same.

Possibly the Kea of New Zealand might qualify as well.

 

[Australis]

Read Iain M Banks's Culture novels. AIs have full rights in those.

T'other thing is I'd say we're only 20-30 years away from really having to answer this question.

 

[RJDiogenes]

And there will eventually also be the issue of animals with bio-engineered intelligence.

 

[trekkiedane]

I think the question is the wrong way around; It is possible that sentient machines one day will ask themselves whether there is any reason to keep humans around any more now that they -the next logical step in evolution- don't need us any more.

Elephants have also been known to aid the injured of other species.

As do dolphins. Even cats and dogs show -what we can only interpret as- sympathy when someone in their human family is ill.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Hopefully there will be Liberal tree-hugging Hippie Robots who will want to protect us and save us from extinction.

 

[trekkiedane]

Well... the logical step for the AIs would be to leave Earth altogether, so we might have a chance anyway.



Although, there is a third option

 

[Lonemagpie]

It's time for that poster again

 

[scotpens]

^^ Hopefully there will be Liberal tree-hugging Hippie Robots who will want to protect us and save us from extinction.

Are you familiar with Creation of the Humanoids, the movie I mentioned upthread? It's based on just such a premise -- intelligent robots trying to save humanity from extinction.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Indeed. In fact, I have it on DVD (a double feature with another movie).

The same theme is also addressed in Asimov's later Robot novels and Foundation sequels.

 

[Docbrown777]

To answer the original question I would never give any rights to a computer no matter how fancy the AI.

It makes for fun science fiction writing and a fun philosophical exercise for some but at the end of the day it is just a machine and it is only behaving the way it does because someone programmed it that way. It doesn't actually have feelings or any other quality you find in naturally occurring life. It only appears that way cause a programmer typed in 001010101001 etc...

The future of AI and how it will be treated is a lot more likely to be the way driods are portrayed in Star Wars and less like the way Data is treated in TNG.

You'll have a robo helper you can have a conversation with. When it wears out you'll be sad cause you had an emotional attachment. Maybe even some will bury them and give them grave markers.

However, no one is going to give it the right to vote, run for office, have rights that limit the amount of time it is made to work, allow it to own property or make it a capital crime to destroy/kill one. It's just not going to happen and shouldn't.

I would sooner elect a dog president then I would give any right in any form to a computer.

 

[trekkiedane]

I would sooner elect a dog president then I would give any right in any form to a computer.

You've tried one -what good did that do? -why not try the other?