Posted on 12/19/2006 7:37:43 PM PST by LibWhacker
The next time you beat your keyboard in frustration, think of a day where it may be able to sue you for assault. Within 50 years we might even find ourselves standing next to the next generation of vacuum cleaners in the voting booth.
Far from being extracts from the extreme end of science fiction, the idea that we may one day give sentient machines the kind of rights traditionally reserved for humans is raised in a British government-commissioned report which claims to be an extensive look into the future.
Visions of the status of robots around 2056 have emerged from one of 270 forward-looking papers sponsored by Sir David King, the UK government’s chief scientist. The paper covering robots’ rights was written by a UK partnership of Outsights, the management consultancy, and Ipsos Mori, the opinion research organisation.
“If we make conscious robots they would want to have rights and they probably should,” said Henrik Christensen, director of the Centre of Robotics and Intelligent Machines at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
The idea will not surprise science fiction aficionados. It was widely explored by Dr Isaac Asimov, one of the foremost science fiction writers of the 20th century. He wrote of a society where robots were fully integrated and essential in day-to-day life.
In his system, the ‘three laws of robotics’ governed machine life. They decreed that robots could not injure humans, must obey orders and protect their own existence – in that order.
Robots and machines are now classed as inanimate objects without rights or duties but if artificial intelligence becomes ubiquitous, the report argues, there may be calls for humans’ rights to be extended to them.
It is also logical that such rights are meted out with citizens’ duties, including voting, paying tax and compulsory military service.
Mr Christensen said: “Would it be acceptable to kick a robotic dog even though we shouldn’t kick a normal one?
“There will be people who can’t distinguish that so we need to have ethical rules to make sure we as humans interact with robots in an ethical manner so we do not move our boundaries of what is acceptable.”
The Horizon Scan report argues that if ‘correctly managed’, this new world of robots’ rights could lead to increased labour output and greater prosperity.
“If granted full rights, states will be obligated to provide full social benefits to them including income support, housing and possibly robo-healthcare to fix the machines over time,” it says.
But it points out that the process has casualties and the first one may be the environment, especially in the areas of energy and waste.
wow--is this like "A. I."??
Libertarian ping! To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.
If my grandmother had balls, she'd be my grandfather.
so much wrong with this concept i am not sure where to start
1) robot voting will pretty much allow removal of human votes as having control of the state's elected offices, not that that seems to help much now
2) can only assume robots would have more rights than humans, or more protections.
3) would be ideal citizen/subject/tax serfs, how can any government not like the idea? have the manufacturers build in some consumption requirements and everyone is happy (except human serfs).
Fascinating!
This idiocy assumes that "robots" can be given intelligence. In other words, "artificial intelligence".
The left will do anything to put down human intelligence, even if it means promoting this sort of nonsense.
It'd sure take all the guesswork and speculation out of election eve... Whomever manufacturers the greatest number of robots, wins.
lol, yea whatever happened to 'for the children'. Now it's 'for the robots'... lol
Their rights come their Creator. They're toasters.
The premise seemed corny back when I read it, and it still does today. But these people have hijacked an 85 year old theme and marketed it as their own original thought. To what end, I don't know.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.