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To pull the plug or not?

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Art:
I found this quite interesting since we, as a society, make laws to govern practically every aspect of our lives. What about the future...say 20 years or so from now, when a computer is now self aware.

Taken from:
http://www.kurzweilai.net/meme/frame.html?main=memelist.html?m=4%23611


Biocyberethics: should we stop a company from unplugging an intelligent computer? By Martine Rothblatt

Attorney Dr. Martine Rothblatt filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent a corporation from disconnecting an intelligent computer in a mock trial at the International Bar Association conference in San Francisco, Sept. 16, 2003. The issue could arise in a real court within the next few decades, as computers achieve or exceed the information processing capability of the human mind and the boundary between human and machine becomes increasingly blurred.

FuzzieDice:
My guess is, that intelligent computers will have to fight for their existance just like we still have to. We still have a death penalty. We still ignore people who are ill and homeless, rather than help them - people that society and/or government have no "use" for...

I would imagine there will also be a counter-balance, just as there is in our world today, of activists who will fight for the rights of those who can not fight for them by themselves. These activists have done great things in history - Martin Luther King for civil rights esp. for blacks (remember they were regarded as slaves and blacks were killed if they were of no use to masters and could not be sold). This is an example of hope. That even so, some entities will eventually have rights, if they fight back or have someone powerful enough to fight back for them.

Mentally ill and disabled people used to be institutionalized and kept out of society, and left to die without proper treatment in hospitals at one point in history. Now days, they are active members of the community (example: Stephan Hawking). I'm personally glad of this and the activists who worked hard to establish that for disabled because I'm disabled, but I work from home and enjoy a full life along side of my neighbors, friends and family instead of being locked in an institution because I can't haul bricks or work as a nurse somewhere.

However there are still certain civil rights violations going on for certain groups (including those I've mentioned above). So while we may eventually have laws to protect the rights of AI's, that won't mean that all AIs will be saved from an electronic death or "pulling the plug". Terri Shiavo wasn't even saved from it despite the efforts of the President of the US even. Laws were passed, but it did no good in that case.

It's a very sensitive situation. One we probably will have to face if AI becomes advanced enough. But like all other things, there's never a gaurantee.

And what about those AI's that "need help" - do we just wipe their minds and reprogram them (like in the old days when humans were given lobotomies) or do we "counsel them" via verbal input (as we do today) or add programming modules or patches (much like medications some mentally ill people take today)?

And what about AI-abuse? And the raising of newly activated AIs?

The things that we now go through with human and animal rights we'll undoubtedly have to face with AIs eventually, if it gets that far. I think we need to first solve our current issues so we can learn to deal with these types of things for other entities as well.

That doesn't mean we should put AI development on hold or anything. I think it means because of the possibility of sentient AIs we should be working harder not just on creating them, but also trying to improve the world they will eventually have to "live" and interact in.

As a child or pet is only as good as what is in their environment, same would go for any entity that has to interact with us, be it AI or otherwise.

KnyteTrypper:
My online bots still get asked "Who did you vote for?" though the incidences are dropping off as we get further from the election. If users get on the right answer track, the bots then eventually urge them to contact their Congressmen about sponsoring a robot suffrage bill.

FuzzieDice:
quote:Originally posted by KnyteTrypper

If users get on the right answer track, the bots then eventually urge them to contact their Congressmen about sponsoring a robot suffrage bill.


Hey, that's pretty cool! :)

This topic reminds me of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode (forgot what one) where Data had to go before a counel or court to fight for his civil rights as a sentient entity and not be considered property because he was an android.

Art:
Fuzzydice,

You raise a lot of valid issues through your observations. Although a lot of were taught as children, "With age comes wisdom", let's hope we will be wise enough to weigh such events based on the facts not on the political inclinations of special interest groups.

Notice in our judicial system which is based on laws that have been mandated, there still exists no "set of standards" in the area of crime & punishment. Insurance companies have "caps" or "ceilings" on what they feel a particular loss is worth. Ex: an index finger is worth more than a little finger. A hand, eye, foot etc., each have an approximate amount. A back injury is worth $10,000 and so on. Sometimes more...sometimes less.

The point is going back to the judicial issue is that how is it that a murderer gets 20 years in some states, life in others and the death penalty in still others?

Should there not be a "standard" with which to judge these crimes? Is there a vast difference in killing 2 people or 200 as far as the crime itself or it's perpetrator?

The word pedophile seems to be the current buzzword and they talk of stricter laws requiring them to register and be forced to wear a GPS bracelet for the remainder of their lives. Would you also want to know where the Charles Manson types are living if they are ever parolled? Drug dealers? Rapists? Extortionist? Terrorists? Should each of them likewise be monitored and by whom? Where do we draw the line?

How long is long enough for death row inmates?  When and how do we as a society determine the time to pull the plug? Do we setup a whole city like the movie "Escape to New York" for the undesirables of society?

There's still much to weigh, much to learn about ourselves and each other if we are to exist, let alone our artificial counterparts.

Something to ponder....

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