Geek News: Legal Rights for Robots?
| Robots could one day demand the same citizen's rights as humans, according to a study by the British government. If granted, countries would be obligated to provide social benefits including housing and even "robo-healthcare", the report says. . . . 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. The paper says a "monumental shift" could occur if robots develop to the point where they can reproduce, improve themselves or develop artificial intelligence. The research suggests that at some point in the next 20 to 50 years robots could be granted rights. If this happened, the report says, the robots would have certain responsibilities such as voting, the obligation to pay taxes, and perhaps serving compulsory military service. Conversely, society would also have a duty of care to their new digital citizens, the report says. |
And just so you know this news story comes out of an European nation, do notice the possibility of robot-welfare and socialist "programs"! Yes, my friend, someday you -- the human being! -- might have to pay taxes so you can keep retired robots DIGITAL CITIZENS happy. Subsidized government housing for machines. What???
Of course, part of me does wonder -- is this a real news story or just a clever gimmick to advertise this robot movie? Its (admittedly, darn cool-looking) trailer has only recently become available, after all. Hmmmmm!