Robots need rights, claims UK government research

By Reuters

Posted on 21 Dec 2006 at 17:52

Robots may have to be given similar rights to their human counterparts, as advances in technology enables them to perform in increasingly similar, even better, ways to man.

According to a raft of new futurology papers, commissioned by the government, society will have to adapt to offer robots appropriate housing, healthcare and other support, when they develop to the point of being able to reproduce and have artificial intelligence.

This might happen within the next 50 years, it predicts.

Robots would also have to take up social responsibilities such as voting and paying tax.

They could even change the way we view ourselves. 'Robots with advanced artificial intelligence could promote the development of schools of thought that see the human brain as nothing more than a special type of computer,' reads the report.

The paper is one of 246 'scans' commissioned by the UK Office of Science and Innovation's Horizon Scanning Centre. As well as robots, they cover the implications of space exploration, increases in human lifespan, the economic rise of India, nanotechnology and HIV, among other subjects.

Called the Sigma and Delta scans, they were complied by futures researchers, Outsights-Ipsos Mori partnership and the Institute for the Future (IFTF).

The scans build their predictions based on information from a range of sources including think tanks, academic publications, mainstream media, corporate foresight, expert/strategic thinkers, government sources, alternative journals, charities/NGOs, blogs, minority communities, and futurists.