Robot Rights - Do they have any?

This a theoretical discussion on the morality of robot, cyborg, and biobots rights.

Let’s say that we developed robots that think or acts just like humans do. Now lets say a human attacks them do they have a write to defend them self’s? Other humans are allowed to defend there property if needed.

Would they charge the owner of the robot or the robot it self with charges if it harmed some one?

Next question if it went to court and the judge said lets take it apart and see how it ticks. Would or should the robot be able to defend it self? If a judge said hay let’s cut open this guy see if there something wrong with his brain I sure as hell would fight back.

Or how about this robot has a central core that does all there upper brain functions and are linked to it though spread spectrum transmitters. Now if by taking the core off line it takes all the robots powered by the core off line. How does the government take information when they are serving a warrant. They take the computers or hard drives with them....

So in essence they would be killing all of the robots. So would it be far to say that the robots should, would, or could fight back to stop them from being killed?

Next thing that comes into play is what about tela presence robots. Robots controlled directly by a human user. Same example as above a person attacks this robot that looks exactly like a real person. The operator gives warning and the assailant does not listen. Operator fights back and hurts or kills the attacker. Now who was in the wrong? Would the guy be charged with assault, attempted murder, and destruction of property? If it looked just like a human and was attacked would that not be attempted murder because the person though they where attacking a human?

Set up 3 robot stops a criminal after criminal shoots robot... cops come "now think cops are power mad already. They don't like anything they can't control" what would the cops do if they where faced with a robot that had been shot many times and had jumped on a moving car and ripped the car apart to get to the gunman and now as standing before them? Remember hand cuffs don't work, mace doesn’t work, and guns don't work... robot is unarmed besides it hands and is not being aggressive in the least.

I'm starting to think about writing a book and I think something playing off this would make a very good story. Yes I know my grammar and spelling are bad dyslexia is a pain that’s why you get some one else to type it for you 8Þ

Isaac Asimov already wrote the book you seem to be describing. They even made a very recent movie out of it called "I, Robot". Maybe that's where you got the idea

[edit on 2/24/2005 by centurion1211]

They dont have any rights, even If they think like humans dont dont feel like humans and dont have emotions like humans, I dont think that it will come that far with robots

Originally posted by DJFiyaaBl8
They dont have any rights, even If they think like humans dont dont feel like humans and dont have emotions like humans, I dont think that it will come that far with robots

Why? What do you base this flawed assumption on? Humans are basically biological robots which could eventually be replicated someday. Sorta like the new Cylons on BSG. Silicon based life is possible, its not a matter of if but when. I personally do not think it's imminent, but its not as far away as people think. I have said this before and I'll say it again, it will be attitudes like this that could eventually start a war between the Organics and the Synthetics. I wonder where the Cyborgs are going to fit into all this...

until robots have AI they don't deserve rights...

does your computer have rights???

Originally posted by they see ALL
until robots have AI they don't deserve rights...

does your computer have rights???

Hehe of course not, if it did I wouldn't have to clean of 100s of spyware of my families computers. When they develop Intelligence, Self-Awareness and Emotions then they will deserve the rights and responsiblities that are due.

tell me this first, do you believe in animal rights? what about the rights of unborn feotuses? do they have rights? and plants, does plant life necesarilly have rights? Where does "feeling" begin, or end?

where do you draw the line?

i ask you this.

Originally posted by ZetaGundam007
tell me this first, do you believe in animal rights? what about the rights of unborn feotuses? do they have rights? and plants, does plant life necesarilly have rights? Where does "feeling" begin, or end?

where do you draw the line?

i ask you this.

Right. How long before we see some PETA spinoff with signs saying "Bread is Murder!"

I dont think humans have matured as a whole to accept the possability of another intelligent and equal or superior life system on this planet. It seems many cant even afford their own brothers and sisters the most basic respect.

does your computer have rights???

Well I consider it to have rights, if someone punches my computer I punch them, since it cant.

I wonder where the Cyborgs are going to fit into all this...

Probably the same role Japanese americans had when the war between Japan and America started, concentration camps on both sides.

I believe that if it can think, in the process of figuring out the answer to a qeustion without contact to an outside databank.
If comes to man against machine, I'll choose the better of the two, the machines.

I believe as long as 1's and 0's are the only processes involved, life is out of the equation (although beyond this definition, this includes quantum computing). Any "artificial intelligence" will still be following functions and subroutines, writing its own routines simulating thought. It is true that through the amazing advancements in neural networks, mechanized creatures have been created that for all intensive purposes look, act, and even "think" in ways that mirror biological life; however these creations and their successors will never be alive. They may be made of memetic metals that return to their original construction when damaged, or processing centers with capacities that make Einstein look like a poodle with a bad haircut, but they will always do what they are told. They will always obey commands, even if they are issueing themselves the commands.

Life cannot be created or constructed. Life simply is. A consequence of existance, a result of the universe which we perceive.

Because no machine, computer, or AI will ever be truely alive, in my opinion it should never be granted the rights of a living entity. If you kill a dog, the dog is dead. No dog will ever exist that will have the exact same traits, personality, memories or emotions that that animal possessed. But if you destroy a machine, you can create another machine that is an exact replica, and will act accordingly.

Let’s say that we developed robots that think or acts just like humans do. Now lets say a human attacks them do they have a write to defend them self’s? Other humans are allowed to defend there property if needed.

Would they charge the owner of the robot or the robot it self with charges if it harmed some one?

Firstly, we should assert whether Robotic beings are self-aware of thier own being and furthermore, are rational beings with the ability to discern between relative issues such as good and bad; otherwise, this question seems quite ambigous and one wonders if these robots are on par the the intellegence and mental capacity of a common house pet.

If technological advancments allow and Robots are granted the faculities of consciousness found only and explicity in humans, then these Robots would would also have thier own sense of self-identity and the ability to discern between ethical questions. Furthermore, this sense of self-identity and fully aware consciousness would also be able to form collective consciousness behaviors found commonly amongst ourselves; for example: A group of protestors, a group of violent thugs, or even a group of freinds meeting for an occasional dinner in regards to a shared book they have all read. These all indicate that the one individual consciousness can be superseded by a collective group consciousness, and these al indicate that rationality, and sometimes visceral drives, have allowed to common caused to become universal amongst the many individuals. If these are inherent in our Robotic counterparts, then one wonders why the need to create a fully self-aware, rational being would be; one wonders if these Robots, instead of killing, would protest thier right to freedom -- assuming they have been used in luie of labour and other endevours which require human efforts to the extreme.

These Robots would taken on a consciousness on par with ours and erect thier own individuality, would they not? Would you or I being willing to strip away our own freedoms and become subordinate to another being? I hardly think so; I hardly think a Robot would allow it either.

If a human were to attack a Robot -under the given pretext- then the human should be charged with assualt. Humans do have a right to defend thier property, however, once again, would a Robot want to be property of a human?


Deep

Moot point for quite a while - machine intelligence is a long, long way from needing rights. Right now and for the foreseeable future, it a bunch of property and at the whim of it's owner's wishes - I mean does a bolt have a right or the CPU in my computer - nope....

Asimov pretty well flushed all this out for us already so we have a boilerplate to go by if and when it does happen....

I say we stick with Aasimov's robotic laws and we should be ok...

BiCentennial Man was an excellent movie on this by the way...

I've got my three thumbs up for Asimov -wait I'm a robot - I think....

Does the fact that I have to plug myself into a 110v socket at night mean something - do you guys have to do this and do you have 3 thumbs too??

Rights - I want my rights and my 110v....

The right to exist is more than enough! We do not own them anyway!

They co-exist with their makers, if only we could! Maybe they are our makers!

But it's a real shame of their inability of knowing they exist! Or do they know, and just choose not to know!

this might be one of those things you look back on and think i wish i had'nt said anything but how can robots have souls thats why if they ever began acting like us it would just be a emulation of the human soul

Does a robot have rights? Why ask fellow humans if you cannot come up with a logical answer for yourself.
Try asking your toaster.
Interesting, though, the different thoughts. One person was even concerned that if you give a machine a "right", you just might have to allow a "feotus" (Latin, for unborn baby. See the irony, when they call the baby a "Fetus"?).
All in all, one of the more interesting threads, I have to say.

As far as the question, my car says that once the robots reach the point where they can reason AND have a bit of emotion, then we need to think about the concept. Not necessarily for the sake of the machine, but for the sake of humanity.