Should robots have human rights?

[soulgeezer]

From the Daily Mail newspaper (England):

"No invention in the past century has better evoked the uneasy relationship we have with technology - a mixture of awe, huge (and usually unfulfilled) expectations and some fear.

"A ... report commissioned by the [British] Department of Trade and Industry talked about giving robots "human" rights - including the right to vote, to receive income support, the provision of council housing and even robot healthcare."

So, what do you think? Should robots have human rights?

Original article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=451016&in_page_id=1770

 

[Baryonyx]

No, I don't think we should start crossing borders and making them tin-can humans.

 

[Ericman197]

uhhhh... no?

 

[Benjamin Strange]

Hell, I haven't even gotten comfortable with letting women vote, and now you want me to allow robots to vote?

Hmm, well... as long as we don't allow the robot women to vote, I think I'd be ok with that.

 

[Geoff St. Germaine]

If we wind up creating some sort of conscious, self-aware robots then I would say yes. Current robots, certainly not. I'm reasonably certain Asimo wouldn't understand what you were telling it if you told him he could vote.

 

[ElBajista]

This is nothing but a slippery-slope situation. If we allow "conscious, self-aware" robots to have human rights it merely opens the doors to the further dehumanization of man. I think we've done enough already...

 

[syciprider]

From the Daily Mail newspaper (England):

"No invention in the past century has better evoked the uneasy relationship we have with technology - a mixture of awe, huge (and usually unfulfilled) expectations and some fear.

"A ... report commissioned by the [British] Department of Trade and Industry talked about giving robots "human" rights - including the right to vote, to receive income support, the provision of council housing and even robot healthcare."

So, what do you think? Should robots have human rights?

Original article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=451016&in_page_id=1770

They are not human. What was the question?

 

[stedtale]

no.

 

[CrazyArcher]

They are not human. What was the question?

+1. Even if a self-consious robot is created, why should it be equal to humans? It won't ahve emotions anyway, only crude surrogates in teh best case...

 

[Vince S.]

Hell, I haven't even gotten comfortable with letting women vote, and now you want me to allow robots to vote?

Hmm, well... as long as we don't allow the robot women to vote, I think I'd be ok with that.

Yeah, that does seem kind of strange to let a robot have human rights.

Anyone seen "AI"?

 

[Komakino]

They are not human. What was the question?

Nor are chimps, but one is in court in Austria fighting for rights to guardianship as a "non-human hominid".

http://www.newscientist.com/blog/shortsharpscience/2007/03/great-ape-on-trial.html

 

[HomeBrewTJ]

Why is this a question?

 

[ALiP BoB]

Hell no.

Ever seen I Robot?

 

[disenchant]

Considering that robots need to be programmed by humans, and their thinking is guided by their programming, I'd say "no" because in reality a robot vote would just be 2 human votes from the same person, one from the live person and one from the robot they programmed. A robot can "think" only what their told to. Except for Data from TNG. Not only is he cool, he's "fully functional!"

 

[Marlat]

Link Removed

 

[JeffTheBig]

NO

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I love the daily mail, full of crap

 

[bassturtle]

No and here's Sam Waterston to tell us why

 

[syciprider]

Nor are chimps, but one is in court in Austria fighting for rights to guardianship as a "non-human hominid".

http://www.newscientist.com/blog/shortsharpscience/2007/03/great-ape-on-trial.html

Progressive societies.

 

[RWP]

Wasn't there a Will Smith movie about this?