Are Robots Contributing at the Elimination of Jobs?

Introduction

In the past few years of concentrating on short- and medium-term futures, we have remained fascinated by one particular long-term emerging issue-the rights of robots. The predictable response to the question, “Should robots have rights?” has been one of disbelief. Those in government often question the intent or credibility of such research. Many futurists, too, especially those concerned with environmental or humanistic futures, react unfavourably.

They assume that we are unaware of the second and third order effects of roboticsthe potential economic dislocations, the strengthening of the world capitalist system, and the development of belief systems that view the human brain merely as a special type of computer(D'Ignazio, 25-125). Why then, in the face of constant cynicism, should we pursue such a topic? We believe that the development of robots and their emerging rights is a compelling issue which will significantly and dramatically impact not only the judicial and criminal justice system, but also the philosophical and political ideas that govern our societal institutions.

In the coming decades, and perhaps even years, sophisticated thinking devices will be developed and installed in self-propelled casings which will be called robots. Presently, robots are typically viewed as machines-as inanimate objects and, therefore, devoid of rights(Warring, 225-85). Since robots have restricted mobility, must be artificially programmed for 'thought', lack senses as well as the emotions associated with them, and most importantly cannot experience suffering or fear, it is argued that they lack the essential attributes to be considered alive.

With such an holistic extension of rights to all things in nature, from animals and trees to oceans, comes a renewed sense of responsibility, obligation and respect for all things. Certainly, these concepts are foreign to the worldview of most of us today. The burden of this article is, then, to convince the reader that there is strong possibility that within the next 25 to 50 years robots will have rights.

Nature and robots

This neohumanistic thinking can and, we believe, should apply to robots as well. Eventually humans may see robots not only as mechanical slaves, not only as our products, as ours to buy and sell, but also as entities in their own right. Of course, at present the notion of robots with rights is unthinkable, whether one argues from an 'everything is alive' Eastern perspective or from an 'only man is alive' Western perspective(Mckie, 85-135).

Yet as Christopher Stone argues? throughout legal history, each successive extension of rights to some new entity has been, theretofore, a bit unthinkable. We are inclined to suppose the rightlessness of rightless “things” to be a decree of Nature, not a legal convention acting in support of some status quo. Stone reminds us of the obvious but easily forgotten. Human history is the history of exclusion and power. Humans have defined numerous groups as less than human-slaves, women, the “other races”, children and foreigners(Liptak, 85-135).

These are the wretched who have been defined as stateless, personless, suspect, and rightless. This is the ...