Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Should AIs and AI Robots Demand Rights?
Interesting speculation has emerged regarding whether or not artificial intelligences (AIs) or robots run with AIs should be able to demand their own rights:
Sure enough, early research has already found that a quarter of young people believe AI is "already conscious..."
"We must build AI for people; not to be a digital person," Suleyman cautions. "AI companions are a completely new category, and we urgently need to start talking about the guardrails we put in place to protect people and ensure this amazing technology can do its job of delivering immense value to the world."
"For a start, AI companies shouldn’t claim or encourage the idea that their AIs are conscious," he says. "Creating a consensus definition and declaration on what they are and are not would be a good first step to that end. AIs cannot be people — or moral beings."
(Via Futurism.)
In their 1939 story The Trial of Adam Link, Robot", Eando Binder (a pseudonym used by two brothers, Earl and Otto) create a situation in which the question of robot citizenship arises - should robots have the right to a trial?
Tom Link smiled. I suddenly perceived that he was a very clever young man. He had planned this trap! "Right, sheriff," he said quickly. "This robot is a creature. It is not an animal, for animals don't talk. It is a manlike being. Therefore, like any other talking, thinking man, he is entitled to a court trial!"
The sheriff tried to remonstrate, but Tom hustled him out, and the other men with him. "If you want to continue prosecution of Adam Link, the intelligent robot," was Tom's parting shot, "come back with a warrant of arrest!"
According to Suleyman, this myth of AI sentience is already being spread by top figures in the tech industry who are eager to hash out the legal, philosophical, and moral implications of artificial life — figures like Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, and Anthropic "AI welfare researcher" Kyle Fish.
p 33
The law officer gasped. "Well — uh — " He began again, lamely. "But this is different! This robot is a moving, li — no, not living — but anyway — uh — it's a creature, and — " He was too muddled by the sudden change of concept to go on.
('The Trial of Adam Link, Robot (1939) by Eando Binder)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/25/2025)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Artificial Intelligence ")
Google's Nano Banana Pro Presents Handwritten Math Solutions
'...copy was turned out in a charming and entirely feminine handwriting.' - Isaac Asimov (1949)
Woman Marries Computer, Vonnegut's Dream Comes True
'Men are made of protoplasm... Lasts forever.' - Kurt Vonnegut
ChatGPT Now Participates in Group Chats
'...the city was their laboratory in human psychology.'
'AI Assistants' Are Actually Less Reliable For News
'Most men updated their PIP on New Year's Day...' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1978.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
The Zapata Air Scooter Would Be Great In A Science Fiction Story
'Betty's slapdash style.'
Thermostabilized Wet Meat Product (NASA Prototype)
There are no orbiting Michelin stars. Yet.
Could Crystal Batteries Generate Power For Centuries?
'Power could be compressed thus into an inch-square cube of what looked like blue-white ice'
India Ponders Always-On Smartphone Location Tracking
'It is necessary... for your own protection.'
Amazon Will Send You Heinlein's Knockdown Cabin
'It's so light that you can set it up in five minutes by yourself...'
Is It Time To Forbid Human Driving?
'Heavy penalties... were to be applied to any one found driving manually-controlled machines.'
Replace The Smartphone With A Connected Edge Node For AI Inference
'Buy a Little Dingbat... electropen, wrist watch, pocketphone, pocket radio, billfold ... all in one.'
Artificial Skin For Robots Is Coming Right Along
'... an elastic, tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
Robot Guard Dog On Duty
I might also be thinking of K-9 from Doctor Who.
Wearable Artificial Fabric Muscles
'It is remarkable that the long leverages of their machines are in most cases actuated by a sort of sham musculature...'
BrainBridge Concept Transplant Of Human Head Proposed
'Briquet’s head seemed to think that to find and attach a new body to her head was as easy as to fit and sew a new dress.'
Google's Nano Banana Pro Presents Handwritten Math Solutions
'...copy was turned out in a charming and entirely feminine handwriting.'
Edible Meat-Like Fungus Like Barbara Hambly's Slunch?
'It was almost unheard of for slunch to spread that fast...'
Sunday Robotics 'Memo' Bot Has Unique Training Glove
'He then started hand movements of definite pattern...'
Woman Marries Computer, Vonnegut's Dream Comes True
'Men are made of protoplasm... Lasts forever.'
Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'
