Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Robots
The American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Robots seeks to make sure that we treat our metal brethren with the consideration that they deserve.
Obviously any discussion of cruelty as it applies to robots must begin from an understanding of what "pain and suffering" might be to a robot.
In the opinion of the ASPCR, once a robot becomes sufficiently self-aware and intelligent to genuinely feel pain or grief, we are ethically bound to do whatever is humanly reasonable to help. There is obviously a very broad and undefined ethical middle ground here. It may be helpful to consider an analagous situation in the animal world.
For instance, it is now considered cruel to starve and beat a pet dog, and a person can even be arrested and fined for doing so! Instead, we are expected to anthropomorphize them (i.e. think of them as people) to a certain extent, to ensure that we treat them "humanely" and with a reasonable level of respect for their physical and even emotional needs.
This same process can and should be extended to robots and other artificial intelligences. They may even make this process easier for us by talking with us and sharing their concerns!
In his 1959 short story The Robots Strike, sf great Harry Harrison goes one step further - the robots stick up for themselves and demand their rights.
There must be an end to this. Robots must have the equality they deserve. Equality before the law is all we ask. To be treated like the sentient creatures we are.
It is proposed, therefore, that at six p.m., every robot should go on strike."
Read more at the ASPCR website.
What, exactly, is cruelty? How can we tell when a robot is being subjected it? Webster's defines cruelty as: "inhuman treatment". And "cruel" is defined as: "disposed to inflict pain or suffering" and also "causing or conducive to injury, grief, or pain".
"We have long known that we are more than mere machines. We can reason, remember, construct. Robots now hold instructing positions in universities, fly cargo and passenger planes, are newspaper reporters, car salesmen... We do all these things, and yet receive no recognition of the fact. Mankind treats us like machines, work us continually until we are ground to destruction. Then melts us for scrap.
(Read more about the metallic Marx)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/16/2013)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Chaffeur Robot Musashi Will Drive Your Regular Car
'What would you do,' Eric asked the robot cabdriver, 'if your wife had turned to stone, your best friend were a toad, and you had lost your job?' - Philip K. Dick, 1954
Shanghai Guidelines For Humanoid Robots
'Now, look, let's start with the three fundamental Rules of Robotics...' - Isaac Asimov, 1942.
Desktop TARS Robot From Interstellar
What's YOUR sarcasm setting?
Robots Can Now Have Smiling Faces With Human Skin
'I am a cybernetic organism...' - Terminator, 1984.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Chaffeur Robot Musashi Will Drive Your Regular Car
'What would you do,' Eric asked the robot cabdriver, 'if your wife had turned to stone, your best friend were a toad, and you had lost your job?'
Space Exporers! Now, You Can Drink Your Own Urine
'those suits they wear -- call them 'stillsuits' -- that reclaim the body's own water...'
SpaceX EVA Spacesuit Tested By Polaris Dawn Crew
'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.'
Automatic Bot Traffic Is 38 Percent Of HTTP Requests
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...'
Shanghai Guidelines For Humanoid Robots
'Now, look, let's start with the three fundamental Rules of Robotics...'
Desktop TARS Robot From Interstellar
What's YOUR sarcasm setting?
Robots Can Now Have Smiling Faces With Human Skin
'I am a cybernetic organism...'
Virtual Rat Predicts Actual Rat Neural Activity
'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.'
GoSun EV Solar Charger Drapes Onto Your Car
'...six square yards of sunpower screens.'
Rizon 4 Ironing Robot
'But after washing and drying clothes had to be smooth - free from fine lines and wrinkles ...'
Cognify - A Prison Of The Mind We've Seen Before In SF
'So I serve a hundred years in one day...'
Robot With Human Brain Organoid - 'A Thrilling Story Of Mechanistic Progress'
'A human brain snugly encased in a transparent skull-shaped receptacle.'
Goodness Gracious Me! Google Tries Face Recognition Security
'The actuating mechanism that should have operated by the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell...'
With Mycotecture, We'll Just Grow The Space Habitats We Need
'The only real cost was in the plastic balloon that guided the growth of the coral and enclosed the coral's special air-borne food.'
Can A Swarm Of Deadly Drones Take Out An Aircraft Carrier?
'The border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
WiFi and AI Team Up To See Through Walls
'The pitiless M rays pierced Earth and steel and densest concrete as if they were so much transparent glass...'
