If Robots Were Persons, What Kind of Persons Could and Should They Be?

Abstract

This contribution hypothesizes that humans someday will design and develop robots that will be recognized as persons with moral status and rights analogous to those of human beings. Such a scenario is most often discussed in terms of robots’ moral agency and in terms of how this agency should be shaped to protect the well-being of humans. However, here, I would like to focus on robots’ moral patiency and developing them in a way that protects their well-being. In particular, I would like to examine the process of designing such artificial persons in the context of the aforementioned dilemma. The presentation does not offer any final solutions but rather signalizes the relevance and complexity of questions such as: (1) should robot persons be designed as servants?, (2) should they be made to experience childhood? and (3) should they be developed to experience and/or cause suffering? Thus, this contribution problematizes the main issue of the workshop by presenting the dilemmas that are potential consequences of choosing one of its possible answers.