The right to recharge, the right to repair...? What rights will robots have in the future?
It’s not that we are obsessed with robots here at TMR, it’s just the rapid technological advances in this field raises so many really interesting questions, such as: “What, if any, rights should be granted to sentient machines?”
Most humans accept the granting of “human” rights, and “animal” rights, based on the notion of protecting our fellow creatures from pain and suffering. So if an automaton is programmed to feel those same emotions, does that qualify the machine to a corresponding “right” not be forced to endure unnecessary suffering?
Up until now, the issue has been one confined to the realms of science fiction, such as the peerless movie Blade Runner, where the protagonist struggles emotionally with his mission to eliminate the replicant Rachael. She’s a machine, but she thinks she’s human.
Of course, you have to accept the premise that, in the future, machines will achieve a level of consciousness akin to human, or animal, consciousness. That may or may not happen, but it does make us go … hmmmm.
