The jobs robots will steal first
It may be a long way off but if we do reach a point where machines are truly intelligent, what rights should they have
Picture the scenario - a sentient machine is
"living" in the US in the year 2050 and starts browsing through the US
constitution.
Having read it, it decides that it wants the opportunity to vote.
Oh,
and it also wants the right to procreate. Pretty basic human rights
that it feels it should have now it has human-level intelligence.
"Do
you give it the right to vote or the right to procreate because you
can't do both?" asks Ryan Calo, a law professor at the University of
Washington.
"It would be able to procreate instantly and
infinitely so if it and its offspring could vote, it would break the
democratic system."
This is just one of the questions Prof Calo is
contemplating as he considers how the law has to change to accommodate
our ever-growing band of robot and AI companions.
He does not
think that human-level intelligence is coming to machines any time soon
but already our relationship with them is raising some interesting
questions.
Recently there was a tragic accident at a VW factory in
Germany, when a robotic arm, that moved car parts into place, crushed a
young man who was also working there.
Exact details of the case are not yet released but it is believed human error was to blame.
Volkswagen has not commented on the incident.
While
industrial accidents do happen, the law gets a little fuzzy when it
involves a robot. It would be unlikely that a human could sue a robot
for damage, for example.
"Criminal law requires intent and these systems don't do things wrong on purpose," said Prof Calo.
How
the world deals with the rise of artificial intelligence is something
that is preoccupying leading scientists and technologists, some of who
worry that it represents a huge threat to humanity.
Elon Musk, founder of Tesla motors and aerospace
manufacturer Space X, has become the figurehead of the movement, with
Stephen Hawking and Steve Wozniak as honorary members.
Mr Musk who has recently offered £10m to projects designed to control AI, has likened the technology to "summon