New Life?

Last week cnn.com ran an article on an artificial intelligence (AI) designer and his attempts at a learning, household robot. He has had significant success, and he believes he is three years away from selling Zeno, a cartoonish looking robot that learns.

Zeno's programming is designed for him to learn, to read emotions, to talk, to walk, and be in all regards a robot pet.

For a long time, I have believed that sentient AI (computers that are self-aware) will be achieved in my life time. Some of us believe it could happen in the next 10-15 years. Imagine the movies Bicentennial Man or AI as real life. Each family could own its own robot housekeeper or gardener. Families could even be "adopting" robotic "children." Life will never be the same.

Sentient AI will be one of the greatest challenges to human ethics and our understanding of life. We will be forced to face unanswerable and difficult questions: Can we truly create life? What is life? Will non-biologicals have equal worth as biologicals? Will it be OK for us to have robot "servants?" Will it be acceptable to shut-down sentient AI? I'm sure everyone will debate hotly: Do AI's have souls?

I do believe all sentient life is of value, and it is important for the future of the human race that we begin to discuss this issue. Too many times we have devalued life because it was different from us. In the 1800's, Native Americans and Blacks were thought by some to not have souls; rather, they believed that they were "almost" humans...worthy for slave labor and property. Color of skin, gender, and ethnicity have been sources for prejudice, but we will soon see another (and I believe very violent) prejudice against non-biologicals. It will be a fun discussion (to understate it a tad).







What do you think? Do you think we'll ever create sentient AI? Will you consider it life? Will its worth be that of your own?