The moral status of robots is a frequent theme in science fiction, back at least to Isaac Asimov’s robot stories, and the consensus is clear: if someday we manage to create robots that have mental lives similar to ours, with human-like plans, desires and a sense of self, including the capacity for joy and suffering, then those robots deserve moral consideration similar to that accorded to natural human beings. Philosophers and researchers on artificial intelligence who have written about this issue generally agree.What even a decade ago might have seemed a flight of scientific fancy has become a relevant question as the development of AI and robotics proceeds apace. Hardly a day goes by without headlines that seem fantastic.
I am thy creature, and I will be even mild and docile to my natural lord and king, if thou wilt also perform thy part, the which thou owest me. Oh, Frankenstein, be not equitable to every other, and trample upon me alone, to whom thy justice, and even thy clemency and affection, is most due. Remember that I am thy creature: I ought to be thy Adam …Even without biblical allusion, it’s hard not to feel the weight of the Creator’s responsibility. It’s a heady, dizzying thought—in this case, pushing past parental concern and into the realm of god-figure.