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FYI about a lecture, since some of you might be in the Chicago area.
Now, Gunkel is of course not too far out by our standards - he is a
machine ethics guy, rather than a radical AGI proponent, but that
actually makes his case more interesting.<br>
<br>
Personally I think machine rights make sense when the machine can
understand them, something that is pretty far away (AGI complete?).
Some machines might be moral patients (i.e. we might not be morally
allowed to treat them badly, for some kinds of bad) much earlier - I
am arguing this especially for early uploading experiments, but it
might apply to some other systems. Many machines are also moral
proxies: they are not moral agents nor responsible, but they are
proxies for a moral agent and that person extends their
responsibility through the machine.<br>
<br>
-------- Original Message --------
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">Subject: </th>
<td>[<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:announce@iacap.org">announce@iacap.org</a>]
Lecture in Chicago - 14 Feb 2013</td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">Date: </th>
<td>Mon, 11 Feb 2013 11:59:42 -0600</td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">From: </th>
<td>David GUNKEL <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="mailto:dgunkel@niu.edu"><dgunkel@niu.edu></a></td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">To: </th>
<td><a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="mailto:announce+iacap.org@iacap.org"><announce+iacap.org@iacap.org></a></td>
</tr>
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<br>
<br>
Please distribute to anyone who might be interested:<br>
<b><br>
Citizen Robot: A Vindication of the Rights of Machines</b><br>
Cultural Studies Colloquium Series with David J. Gunkel<br>
<br>
Columbia College Chicago<br>
Thursday, February 14 at 4:00pm to 6:00pm <br>
Collins Hall, Room 602 624 S. Michigan, Chicago, Illinois<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://events.colum.edu/calendar/day/2013/2/14">http://events.colum.edu/calendar/day/2013/2/14</a><br>
<br>
<b>Abstract: </b>Whether we recognize it or not, we are in the
midst of a robot invasion. Machines are now everywhere and doing
everything. They manufacture our automobiles and other consumer
products. They make decisions concerning finances and manage our
retirement savings. They play match maker, connecting us to our one
true love. And they effectively select the books we read, the music
we hear, and the films we watch. As these artifacts increasingly
come to occupy influential positions in contemporary culture, we
will need to ask ourselves some rather difficult questions: At what
point might a robot or algorithm be held responsible for the
decisions it makes or the actions it deploys? When, in other words,
would it make sense to say “It’s the computer’s fault?â€
Likewise, at what point might we have to seriously consider
extending rights—civil, moral and legal standing—to these
socially active devices? When, in other words, would it no longer be
considered non-sense to suggest something like “equal rights for
machines?†Although these questions are a staple in science
fiction, we have already passed the tipping point. This presentation
will demonstrate why it not only makes sense to speak of the
vindication of the rights of machines but also why avoiding this
subject could be considered immoral.<br>
<br>
<b>David J. Gunkel</b> is an award winning author and teacher
specializing in information technology and ethics. He holds the
position of Presidential Teaching Professor in the Department of
Communication at Northern Illinois University and is the author of <i>Hacking
Cyberspace </i>(Westview, 2001); <i>Thinking Otherwise:
Philosophy, Communication, Technology</i> (Purdue University
Press, 2007); and <i>The Machine Question: Critical Perspectives on
AI, Robots and Ethics</i> (MIT Press, 2012). <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<div style="clear: both;">David J. Gunkel<br>
Presidential Teaching Professor<br>
Department of Communication<br>
Northern Illinois University<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.gunkelweb.com/gunkel.html">http://www.gunkelweb.com/gunkel.html</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:dgunkel@niu.edu">dgunkel@niu.edu</a><br>
815-753-7004<br>
----------------------------<br>
The Machine Question (MIT 2012)<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://machinequestion.org">http://machinequestion.org</a><br>
<br>
International Journal of Zizek Studies<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://zizekstudies.org">http://zizekstudies.org</a><br>
----------------------------</div>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Anders Sandberg,
Future of Humanity Institute
Oxford Martin School
Faculty of Philosophy
Oxford University </pre>
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