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Do Robots Need Passports? Should They?
Hallie Siegel writes: With countries evolving different regulations over robotic devices, law professor Anupam Chander looks into whether robots crossing borders will need passports, and what the role of international trade law should be in regulating the flow of these devices. Fascinating discussion on what happens when technology like robots crosses over international borders, as part of this year's We Robot conference in Seattle.
Just 3D print a new one with the right "nationality" on the other side of the border.
Nullius in verba
This question seems to suggest a question that may have to be answered first: Would robots be considered citizens of a country?
If so, now we're also talking about the rights of said citizens.
-- I have monkeys in my pants.
This is perhaps the dumbest thing that's been posted to Slashdot this week. Robot passports? Are you fucking serious?
-1 disagree is not a modifier for a reason. -1 troll, flaimbait, redundant, overrated are NOT acceptable substitutes.
but that won't stop them.
Not if they have a phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range.
We recently had a media case about an ex-couple suing each other over custody of the dog. In short, despite whatever personal relationship they had to the dog it was not like a child custody case, it was decided by property law. A robot is someone's property, it's no different from flying an RC plane across the border. Unless you got sentient robots granted their own rights, it's a non-issue. And if you do got sentient robots then passport control is the least of your worries.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
There is no AI that has common sense, it's a fantasy.
And most of all:
Robot != AI
A robot is a machine that sits in a factory making cars.
AI is mostly software which sits in a computer typically in a university or corporate lab.
Please quit with calling AI robots.
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But what is a passport? It's proof of citizenship. Giving robots passports would convey upon them rights and responsibilities.
Now, requiring import duties and restrictions on munitions doesn't have any "human" implications, and was used against lots of military tech previously.
Learn to love Alaska
Yeah, no kidding. Bill of lading or customs form.
Passport, not so much.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Shouldn't we be making sure that unicorns, fairies and dragons get passports - after all, they were first.
Why are robots jumping the queue?
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Well of course robots need passports, silly!
Just like my car needs its own passport to cross a border.
In addition my lawnmower has its own drivers license, my garage door opener has a concealed carry permit, and my 50" big screen TV takes a taxicab to a shrink once a week because of a broken heart from when my ps4 left it for a 60" :P
There was a time when people didn't need passports to travel between nations. They were only introduced in the 1840's and only became popular after the American Civil War. Prior to that, human beings had the right to move between nations as they desired, with only the most autocratic (ie feudal, czarist Russia) demanding that their people remain tied to the land where they were born. And indeed, most people travelled between nations without need for one until WWI, when the need for "security" overwhelmed the difficulty of enforcement between nations that were at war, or were in danger of soon going to war.
But, of course, the world is no longer at war, is it?
The question shouldn't be "why should robots have passports?" it is "why should humans?"
It most certainly is not. A passport is proof of nationality, not citizenship - two very different legal concepts.
There are many people right now who, for instance, are US nationals but not citizens. They have US passports but do not have the rights of a citizen i.e. they can't vote, participate in elections, etc.
A fool and his hard drive are soon parted.
I bought my Roomba it's own cat. Though now that I think about it, I haven't seen the cat since last weekend.
You are welcome on my lawn.
So, a dim lightbulb, in other words?
If you broadcast in an unfocused spherical pattern, 40 watts will do no harm. In a tight beam, even 1 watt can blind you and burn skin. But they cannot light up the moon.
> But back on topic, Does my weedwacker need a passport? Does my electric razor need a passport? WTF would my robot need a passport?
Giving robots literaly passports is silly, of course. I think the point is: do robots need special rules regulating their entry into different countries and would it be useful to use existing rules regarding human travel as a template. As robots become more sophisticated and human-like I think it's a perfectly valid question, but maybe not at the moment.
A fool and his hard drive are soon parted.
All of that is completely irrelevant because, as I said (this is the THIRD time I'm saying this) I'm talking about international law, not any specifics that may or may not apply to US passport holders.
Look up the definition of 'passport' in the New Oxford Companion to Law, or "Passports and Nationality in International Law" by Adam Muchmore (section IV. "The Passport in International Law").
But please, keep on plucking that chicken. You're just making a mockery of yourself. I'm not even sure what the point is to your rants.
A fool and his hard drive are soon parted.