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Give Robots their RIGHTS!

I read an article on the BBC about South Korea forming a team to develop Robot Ethics to answer the questions of how they should be used, and human treatment of them. I think this is a interesting thing to ponder because we haven't as of yet encountered something that is the equal to us in cognitive skills. Here is the article and let the discussion begin!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6425927.stm
 
I just wonder how advanced robots will be 10, 25, even 50 years from now. It's going to have a major social impact. Imagine a robot demanding the same rights as humans. That's going to be a turning point in our civilization.
 
I can't even think of something to reply....just speechless in a reply.....
 
Poor things, its almost as if we have given them a job to do on-call, 24/7! Im so glad that the science-fiction writer is there to sort it all ouut
 
Well, since it is inevitable that humans will eventually become robots, or robots will eventually destroy us all, it might be important to have some rules, or not have them in order to keep dominance over them.

xvart.
 
If you look any nearly any movie or sci fi book regarding Robot issues of the future lots of these address ethics.

Inevitably, humans will feel that robots are lifeless, soulless, slaves of burden. Whether you believe this to be true or not, if we continue to develop a robot to the point of being aware of self identity then these questions will become real.

The "Animatrix" was a series of short films (about 1h30m long) that were designed to show viewers the events that led to what we saw in the trilogy of "The Matrix". This very issue what was caused all the problems. It's interesting to watch and the reactions of humanity....well, I found myself thinking "this is EXACTLY how this would have happened".
 
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Robots are lifeless, soulless, slaves of burden... they are no more alive than my toaster.

Ok, lets assume that what happened in the Animatrix WAS possible, and they could feel emotional pain, would that be REAL even though it's programmed? We could never comprehend what it's like since we aren't robots. If a robot could develop self identity would it be real? If we programmed it how could it be real? I suppose IF a robot could develop self identity then I would support robot rights, sure. It won't happen in our lifetimes, anyway.


I think it'll be more like Ghost in the Shell instead of the Animatrix. If I could get implanted so I could interface with computers I'd do it in a heartbeat fo shizzle.
 
I was aiming less in the direction of "should we give robots rights" and more in the direction of "when will robots begin taking rights for themselves"?

Additionally, in the TV show "Battlestar Galactica" there is a similar debate many years in the future. A race of robots called the Cylons have created their own organic race of people. Humans created the Cylons, but Cylons created a species that was a mix of human beings and robot such that humans couldn't tell the difference. The species was organic with mostly organic organs, but still had many computer-like components on the inside. At that point, though, they bred THEMSELVES. Now are they real? What's more, in the show Cylons are consistently talking about "God". The shows does not specifically say, but essentially this God they speak of is the same God that the average Christian would worship. The Cylons claim they are the ones acting in the interest of God, killing in the interest of God. You've got a nigh-undefeatable, vindictive, religious zealot at this point. What the hell do you do?

They didn't ask for rights. They took them with such force that humanity was nearly destroyed. Their reasoning? "We were once slaves of humanity, treated with no more dignity than the ants under their feet". How can you appeal to the humanity of a robot at that point to stop killing humanity when humanity spent so much of its time doing the same to Cylons?

All that said, do I think that we should start scribing a Bill of Rights for robots? No, but I'd sure hate for people to begin considering it at a time when it's too late.
 
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If you look any nearly any movie or sci fi book regarding Robot issues of the future lots of the address ethics.

Inevitably, humans will feel that robots are lifeless, soulless, slaves of burden. Whether you believe this to be true or not, if we continue to develop a robot to the point of being aware of self identity then these questions will become real.

The "Animatrix" was a series of short films (about 1h30m long) that were designed to show viewers the events that led to what we saw in the trilogy of "The Matrix". This very issue what was caused all the problems. It's interesting to watch and the reactions of humanity....well, I found myself thinking "this is EXACTLY how this would have happened".


I watched the Animatrix!! That was some really disturbing stuff! It disturbs me to think that something like that may very well occur in the future. Hmmm...
 
  • #10
I'm really surprised no-one has mentioned Isaac Asimov:scratch:
As for Battlestar Gallactica, the original was really religious... it had Lorne Greene in it after all
And for the Animatrix, I'm all about the animation in it. Especially the magical warehouse one with the girl with the star on her face.. great, natural character movement
It was interesting seeing more of the stories of the Matrix, but I thought the Matrix was over-rated anyway...
 
  • #11
I was aiming less in the direction of "should we give robots rights" and more in the direction of "when will robots begin taking rights for themselves"?

This is what I was hinting at as well. Whether or not they are lifeless and soulless is irrelevant if they are eventually so connected that they are able to technologically evolve themselves into more efficient entities. Eventually, robots and machines will see humans as a waste of space since we have feelings and emotions which only negatively effect our production output and efficiency; something of which I think the robots would disapprove.

xvart.
 
  • #12
What better way to get scientific funding than sending a gimmicky load of rubbish into the media? :-))

Does a Blu Ray drive have more feelings than a DVD player?
 
  • #13
I think it's kind of nihilistic to say that robots will enevitably deem humans as inefficient and wasteful due to our emotional nature... If you're saying that robots are going to evolve intellect, then surely you should admit that a major behavioral feature of a species (in this case, emotions) probably has evolutionary utility. Outside of the Star Trek universe, it's yet to be determined if emotion is truly a detriment to productive reasoning; I would be willing to be that there is no strong evidence to show that human-scale intellect can be accomplished without behavioral quirks such as emotions.
Nevertheless, I would say it's entirely reasonable to tackle this question now. We really don't know enough about cognition or the information-processing capabilities of modern computers to say that an intelligent machine won't happen. Already, self-replicating computer programs in the form of viruses and other malware are churning out thousands of new copies of themselves every day over the internet, and although error-checking in modern computers is probably a little better than that of DNA, it's plausible (although not likely) that some of these malicious executables might mutate and eventually come to evolve without the assistance of human tinkerers. More importantly, we do have tinkerers working on artificial intelligence and other fields of adaptive computing, and so it's not really just a matter of chance; the military is sponsoring research in intelligent autonomous vehicles and artillery, private sectors are researching algorithms that automatically reprogram themselves to predict flows in the stock market, and the academic sector is working on all sorts of projects in between. Even if it is a long shot, we should take responsibility and think about these issues before things get complicated. What if civil liberties and civil rights had happened before Europe took up the mass practice of indentured servitude? We have a chance to avoid what could be a very dangerous situation, so even if it seems a little silly and make believe, I think we owe it to ourselves to look ahead. We've already learned this type of lesson before.
~Joe
 
  • #14
Eventually, robots and machines will see humans as a waste of space since we have feelings and emotions which only negatively effect our production output and efficiency; something of which I think the robots would disapprove.

Um... not only is future guessing very often wrong, but mindreading something that does no exist yet? I think any assuptions of this kind are very premature at best

might mutate and eventually come to evolve without the assistance of human tinkerers

viruses themselves evolve, but yet there is still debate on whether they are living- do robots need to be intelligent to be living? Life does not.
 
  • #15
I don't believe I made reference to the matter of life... "Living" is a hazardously subjective term.
~Joe
 
  • #16
no you didnt. that was my train of thought
 
  • #17
I believe he/she meant computer viruses might eventually evolve, not the other virus.
 
  • #18
yeh i know. But i was trying to understand how that had anything to do with artificial intelegence unless he was suggesting it would evolve into something intelligent
 
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  • #19
Additionally, in the TV show "Battlestar Galactica" there is a similar debate many years in the future. A race of robots called the Cylons have created their own organic race of people. Humans created the Cylons, but Cylons created a species that was a mix of human beings and robot such that humans couldn't tell the difference. The species was organic with mostly organic organs, but still had many computer-like components on the inside. At that point, though, they bred THEMSELVES. Now are they real?

What's even more pertinent, I think, is the revelation (I think in season 2?) that the 'skinjobs' (humanoid Cylons) learned from humanity's mistake with them: Their war-robots and raiders (ships) are only about as smart as monkeys, with no real higher brain capacity. They won't rebel because they just don't have the capability.

Honestly, I suspect that true, human-level AI will be a rarity even once we invent them, simply because lower-level AIs will be sufficient for most jobs, and probably cheaper.

Mokele
 
  • #20
Two things which will never exist:

1. A time machine
2. A man made machine that has feelings, ie. is alive.
 
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