Robots, Rights, and Consciousness

Here is another item for the "End of the World As We Know It" file. Actually, it is only the beginning. If nothing else makes sense because language has been so confounded, why should we wonder why anyone is concerned about the rights of robots?

Robots are approaching the status of conscious beings, and whoever the usual suspects are, these people are preparing drafts of appropriate rights for these machines. The rights are similar to what we know as "human rights." It should not be surprising that those spearheading the effort are from the land of Locke, viz, this Financial Times report from the UK.

From this quote from the above article, it would seem that rights-for-robots advocates would let the robots dictate policy concerning their rights:

“If we make conscious robots they would want to have rights and they probably should,” said Henrik Christensen, director of the Centre of Robotics and Intelligent Machines at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

So, the first question is, are robots conscious? The next question is, if robots are conscious, does this mean they should have whatever they want, including what are regarded by some as fundamental human rights?

Webster's New International Dictionary (1928) assigns several meanings to "conscious." 1. Sharing knowledge; aware of that of which another is aware. 2. Aware or sensible of an inward state or outward fact. 3. Possessed with a sense of guilt; inwardly aware of fault. 4. Unduly or uncomfortably conscious of one's own personality, esp. as subject to the observation of others; self-conscious. 5. Mentally awake; psychically active or acute. 6. Deliberate, intentional. 7. Endowed with consciousness; possessing mental life, or psychical attributes. 8. Of the nature of consciousness. 9. Involving consciousness of something, as guilt or happiness.

Unfortunately, the components of these definitions require definitions within definitions, and are ultimately given to subjective interpretation. Perhaps there are machines, made by men or by other machines, that would fall into several of the categories of consciousness as defined by the dictionary. But if consciousness refers to the self-aware mind that is aware of its creator, the mind created by God in his own image, then no machine can possess consciousness.

God assigned to man dominion over the rest of creation. It was Satan in the Garden of Eden who attempted to grant a right to man that God had withheld from him for his own good purpose. A created being usurped the authority of its creator, and the Fall resulted, plunging the world into sin until God shall end what we call time.

These robot-rights people are talking about giving your computer the right to sue you for assault if you pound the keyboard in frustration. Maybe they're just scribbling at the drawing board for now, but once the idea is out, manifestation is inevitable. Much learning has made them mad.

I'm sorry, but robots are machines. Sin makes people stupid, but it would be really stupid to succumb to the fabricated notion that fabricated machines are conscious entities.

To resolve this question, I'd propose a simple test: Does sin make robots stupid?