In this blog post, we will look at whether artificial intelligence deserves rights from a philosophical and ethical perspective.
Does artificial intelligence deserve rights?
There is a word “artificial intelligence.” In English, it is written as “artificial intelligence,” which literally means “artificial intelligence.” This refers to artificial intelligence that thinks and acts like a living being, but is not a living being. It is a subject that is often featured in various media, such as science fiction movies, novels, and animations. For example, in the movie Robocop, a robot that thinks and judges like a human fights criminals on behalf of humans, and in the movie A.I., a robot named David appears who thinks of himself as a human and craves the love of his parents. In addition, in the old animation Astro Boy, a robot with human emotions leads the story.
Before we can seriously deal with artificial intelligence, we need to first look at intelligence itself and the background of the development of artificial intelligence. Philosophers have long been concerned about the human mind and intellect, and have been studying for a long time to reveal its essence. In modern philosophy, there have been efforts to explain the nature of the mind with ‘dualism’ and ‘materialism.’ Dualism sees the mind and matter as different things, while materialism tries to interpret the mind as one of the physical phenomena. Today, due to the development of science and technology, materialistic thinking has become dominant over dualism, and the mind is also considered to be the result of material action.
Development of artificial intelligence and its philosophical background
The first discussion of the mind, which began with materialistic thinking, was behaviorism. Behaviorism tried to relate psychological states to certain behaviors on a one-to-one basis, but in the process, it faced the contradiction of having to use different psychological concepts to explain “behavior,” which led to the decline of this theory. After that, ‘functionalism’ emerged, which interpreted psychological states as a kind of function, which later led to classical computationalism. Classical computationalism sees intelligence as a collection of various functions and combines it with computer programs to implement artificial intelligence programs called ‘Turing machines.’
Artificial intelligence research has developed alongside various philosophical theories. Artificial intelligence, which initially only provided simple questions and answers, gradually developed the ability to learn and the ability to respond more smoothly in conversations with humans. Today’s artificial intelligence has the potential to develop on its own based on learning algorithms, and if this development continues, there is a possibility that artificial intelligence with thinking abilities and emotions very similar to humans will appear someday.
So, when artificial intelligence really becomes capable of the same level of thinking as humans, should we also grant them basic rights such as human rights? This is not just a technical question, but also an ethical and philosophical question.
Should we grant rights to artificial intelligence?
Life is dignified not simply because it is alive. For example, the word “abuse” refers to the act of causing unnecessary pain or killing an animal, but for humans, it includes not only physical pain but also acts that infringe on their rights as human beings. On the other hand, plants are alive but are not subject to abuse. This means that rights are guaranteed only when there is intelligence that can recognize the acts inflicted on oneself. From this perspective, if artificial intelligence has the ability to recognize the actions taken against it with a sense of self, then there is a need to discuss whether it should also be guaranteed certain rights.
The level of intelligence can also be an important criterion. Just as the level of rights held by humans and animals differ, the rights guaranteed to them may also vary depending on the level of intelligence of the artificial intelligence. If there is an artificial intelligence with the same level of thinking ability as humans, will it have the right to be respected and protected as an intelligent being?
The most important part of these discussions is an understanding of the nature of human dignity and rights. Humans are dignified not just because they have intelligence. For example, people with intellectual disabilities or those in a vegetative state still have dignity and enjoy the corresponding human rights. This means that human dignity is a separate issue from intelligence. The reason why human beings are dignified is that they are unique. Each human being is a one-time existence in this world, and once their life ends, they cannot be revived. Because of this uniqueness and one-time nature, human beings are dignified and their rights are protected accordingly.
On the other hand, no matter how highly developed artificial intelligence is, it does not possess this uniqueness. Artificial intelligence is a collection of data consisting of electronic signals, which can be replicated as many times as necessary, implanted into a new body, or revived through backup. Therefore, artificial intelligence cannot be as dignified as humans, and it is not appropriate to grant the same rights to beings that do not possess uniqueness as humans.
Conflict between the rights of artificial intelligence and the rights of humans
If we grant AI the same rights as humans, this could cause problems that conflict with human rights. When AI reaches a level where it can judge and exercise its rights, there may be a situation where the exercise of those rights infringes on human dignity. This conflict could ultimately result in humans being harmed by the recognition of AI rights. Considering that the ultimate goal of technology development is to enrich and make human life more convenient, excessive granting of rights to artificial intelligence would be an act that deviates from that goal.
As artificial intelligence advances, discussions about their role and status will continue to be necessary. However, no matter how highly developed artificial intelligence is, they are ultimately just programs created by humans, and giving them excessive rights is likely to infringe on human rights. Therefore, discussions about the rights of artificial intelligence should be approached with caution, and the original purpose of technological development for humans should always be kept in mind.
