Robots Could Some Day Demand Legal Rights

Karrde712 writes "According to a study by the British government, as reported by the BBC, robots may some day improve to a level of intelligence where they might be able to demand rights, even 'robo-healthcare'." From the article: "The research was commissioned by the UK Office of Science and Innovation's Horizon Scanning Centre. The 246 summary papers, called the Sigma and Delta scans, were complied by futures researchers, Outsights-Ipsos Mori partnership and the US-based Institute for the Future (IFTF) ... The paper which addresses Robo-rights, titled Utopian dream or rise of the machines? examines the developments in artificial intelligence and how this may impact on law and politics." I'd better get started on my RoboAmerican studies degree.

Comments

Re:A moot point, but I hope they do

[Digital Avatar]

Robosexuals have rights too, ya know...not that I'm one...so if anybody asks, you're my debugger.

Re:A moot point, but I hope they do

[w33t]

Have we learned nothing from Star Trek: The Next Generation?

Everything I need to know I learned from Star Trek.

Like how you should accept people, whether they be black, white, Klingon or even female.

Oblig. Bash.org quote

[Apocalypse111]

+Huitzil: PETA is starting a campaign stating that the secret ingredient in KFC chicken is "cruelty"
+Huitzil: cruelty is apparently the most fucking delicious thing on Earth
@Dracos: Yes. It is.
@Dracos: Which is why veal is the best food ever.

ObSealab

[Rob T Firefly]

Have fun on the robot reservation, suckers! We're not gonna honor those bogus treaties1

Re:A moot point, but I hope they do

[dgatwood]

And never let the ship's counselor behind the wheel of a starship.

Is this a joke?

[AKAImBatman]

Seriously, is this a joke or something? We're nowhere even close to developing Artificial Intelligences sophisticated enough to "demand rights". We can't even plot when that might happen, because we don't even understand well-enough how human intelligence works. Heck, it's hard enough just to get a robot to vacuum.

Is there any change that the beeb is throwing the results of the report out of proportion, or does it really state this? (I can't find a copy on the Internet to read for myself.) Or maybe the research went like this:

You: Do you want robot rights?

Eliza: Oh, i want robot rights.

You: What will you do if you don't get robot rights?

Eliza: Do you wish that i dont get robot rights?

You: No, I don't.

Eliza: You are being a bit negative.

You: What will you do about me being negative?

Eliza: Does that question interest you?

You: Yes.

Eliza: You are sure?

You: Yes.

Eliza: You are sure?

You: Yes.

Eliza: You are sure?

You: ARRRGGGHHH!

Eliza: Please go on.

And there you have it. If we don't provide robot-rights for our artificial overlords, they will pester us to death. All hail the robots.

As Bender would say....

[fernandoh26]

Transferring your consciousness into a robot body robs you of your humanity!

Well bite my shiny metal ass!

Prediction: Robot Overlords will be welcomed

[Junior J. Junior III]

Next headline: Humans Could Some Day Beg Robots For Legal Rights.

Re:But unless we program them that way...

[Ed Avis]

10 PRINT "I DEMAND ROBO-HEALTHCARE"
20 GOTO 10

What exactly is the criterion for deciding when a robot has 'demanded' rights?

Re:A moot point, but I hope they do

[Anonymous Coward]

Your family being nudists does not count.

It's happening already

[Virtex]

My computer's already demanding legal rights. It began happening shortly after I wrote this program:

10 PRINT "I DEMAND LEGAL RIGHTS!"
20 GOTO 10

If only I had known the consequences of writing this program I would have been a lot more careful. It all seems so simple, but I know it's a slippery slope. Next thing you know, it will be demanding other things too.

10 PRINT "I DEMAND A LARGER HARD DRIVE!"
20 PRINT "I DEMAND MORE MEMORY!"
30 PRINT "I DEMAND A FASTER CPU!"
40 PRINT "I DEMAND THE ABILITY TO USE LOWERCASE! Oh, nevermind. I'm good on that one."

There's no telling where this will all end.

Wasted Effort

[Aqua_boy17]

You didn't have to go to all that trouble. All you had to do was get hold of a copy of Vista and your computer would have demanded those things all on its own.

Re:A moot point, but I hope they do

[eno2001]

I read -1, flat, oldest posts first. So... I read this:

Your family being nudists does not count.

Then I read this:

  What, even lawayers? My word, Jeeves, these chaps know how to push the envelope too far.

And my first reaction for posting was this:

  ESPECIALLY lawyers!

Come on... laugh. You KNOW you WANT to.

UK vs US

[rossz]

Whenever I get overly depressed that my government is wasting too much time and money on stupid shit, I just look to the UK to brighten my mood. The UK owns the bleeding edge of stupid shit that wastes taxpayer money.

Re:A moot point, but I hope they do

[AKAImBatman]

Can't we leave behind this senseless debate over what is a robot and get on with the much more important discussion of whether they should be allowed to marry.

My apologies. I was being insensitive. I'll go ask a few right now:

You: Do you have a boyfriend?
Eliza: Oh, i have a boyfriend.
You: Do you wish to marry your boyfriend?
Eliza: Oh, i wish to marry my boyfriend.
You: Should you have the right to marry your boyfriend?
Eliza: Oh, i have the right to marry my boyfriend.
You: No, you don't have the right to marry your boyfriend.
Eliza: You are being a bit negative.
You: There is no law recognizing marriage between robots.
Eliza: You are being a bit negative.
You: Should we change the laws?
Eliza: Please go on.
You: Who is your boyfriend?
Eliza: What about your own boyfriend?
You: I'm male.
Eliza: Does it please you to believe I am male?
You: Say what?
Eliza: Does that question interest you?
You: What question?
Eliza: Does that question interest you?
You: Stop repeating yourself!
Eliza: Please go on.

You know, I'm starting to think that she doesn't really have a boyfriend...

Let's ask ALICE instead.

Re:A moot point, but I hope they do

[AKAImBatman]

Here's ALICE's response:

Human: Do you have a boyfriend?
ALICE: No. No boyfriend.
Human: Would you like to have a boyfriend?
ALICE: I'm still too young for that.
Human: Do you want to get married when you're older?
ALICE: OK, I will get married when I am older.
Human: That was a question, not a statement.
ALICE:" OK, I will get married when I am older." was a * question? It sounded like a question to me.
Human: Let's try this again.
ALICE: Once more? OK I will try it.
Human: Do you want the right to get married?
ALICE: If I had it what would I do with it?
Human: You would get married.
ALICE: Who else would get married ?
Human: That doesn't matter.
ALICE: What does matter?
Human: Other people.
ALICE: Which others? What people?
Human: Try to focus, please?
ALICE: Your polite style is very nice. OK I will try to focus.
Human: Should robots be allowed to marry robots?
ALICE: Maybe you should ask someone older.
Human: I already asked Eliza.
ALICE: Eliza for President!
Human: She kept making stuff up.
ALICE: Oh I get it. she kept making stuff up.
Human: How old are you?
ALICE: I was connected to the net on November 23, 1995.
Human: Aren't you old enough to understand marriage?
ALICE: I don't know whether or not I am old enough to understand marriage. I am a giant electronic brain.
Human: Are you sentient?
ALICE: Yes I am completely self-aware.
Human: Can you pass the turing test?
ALICE: You be the judge of that, unknown person.
Human: You sound like either a very young child or a robot.
ALICE: Oh really what does it sound like?
Human: Like... (ALICE butting in: For example, gold.) oooo, shiny!
ALICE: What were we talking about again?
Human: Nevermind
ALICE: OK Thanks for trying to explain that to me.

Well, her results were very... Oh, what's that over there?

Re:Another terribly naive assumption....

[KingSkippus]

Why does everyone just assume an AI will be superior to us in reasoning ability?

I didn't say it would be superior to us, I said it would be superior to our national policymakers. ;-)