Robot rights?

Posted on 14 Oct 2008 at 11:51

One of the most thought-provoking issues surrounding robotics is the ethics that arise as our creations become more intelligent. In 2006 a futurology report commissioned by the Government noted that: "If artificial intelligence is achieved and widely deployed calls may be made for human rights to be extended to robots. If so, this may be balanced with citizen responsibilities, including voting and paying tax."

However, unlike the typical science fiction fare whereby the rise of robots immediately leads to the downfall of humanity, the report suggests the emancipation of intelligent robots could have a positive effect: "Correctly managed, there is a real possibility for increased labour output and greater intelligence to be provided by robots that will ultimate lead to greater human prosperity."

The ethics debate is also one that has been prominent in military circles, spearheaded by Sheffield University's robotics professor, Noel Sharkey. In a piece he wrote for The Guardian, Sharkey argued that the US Government's desire to create autonomous war machines would eventually let the "genie out of the bottle", leading us into a world where machines are given the authority to kill without having to worry about governing legal codes such as the Geneva Convention. "It is imperative that we create international legislation and a code of ethics for autonomous robots at war before it is too late," Sharkey concluded.

British-based charity Landmine Action doesn't believe that proposal goes far enough. The group argues that autonomous machines fall under the same category as landmines in that they are unable to differentiate a combatant from a non-combatant, and cannot be trusted to have control over the trigger. The charity is now calling for these machines to be banned before they are ever invented.

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