But What About Giving Robots the Vote?

Or, as some may wonder these latter Election Week days, could they do any worse?  Or even, could they do any better?  But what about robots in general, even the ones on, say, an auto assembly line.  Should they have the right to form their own unions (or have human trade unions lost so much power that the question is moot)?  And, if corporations have “personhood” (or would a Trump Supreme Court roll that “right” back?), should not robots have it too, whatever “it” really is?

As it happens none of these questions are actually asked, at least not in those words exactly (well, one sort of is), in “10 Human Rights That Robots Deserve” by Stubby the Rocket on this week’s TOR.COM, but maybe they’re just being asked in the wrong way.  For instance, before asking about rights to vote, should we not first define a general right to self-determination?  But still, what might happen to our own rights if those of non-humans — especially ones we may have built ourselves — come into the mix?

It’s a sort of deep subject, with no easy answers, at least not given, but to read more about it press here.