Humans, Animals, and Robots, What’s the Difference?

An effort to objectively decide what creatures deserve what

rights and why.Created by: Jared

Franzblau

The Purpose

• The purpose of this project is to objectively decide whether or not any specific animal deserves rights. As discussed in week 2 of the course there could easily come a time where we must debate how easily we can condemn other beings to death or disposal.

• In addition deciding this must be able to be done in a fast and efficient method.

• Finally, the decisions found from this test must be approved by the general populace otherwise they won’t be accepted in the court of law as needed.

The Method

• The test will be presented in a 20 questions format where all answers are predetermined and objective.

• Each question’s answer will have an effect on what the next question is.

• Questions will go from very general to very specific.

• Upon completion a judgment will be made as to what rights any of the beings deserve.

Step 1: CategorySelect a being of some form that is either an animal, machine, or human.

Please select from the bottom which of the three the being is.

Human Animal Machine

Step 2a: VertebrateIs the animal you selected an invertebrate or does it have a

vertebrate?

This is key due to the fact that animals with vertebrates are more developed than those without, and thus are more viable for human rights.

Vertebrate Invertebrate

Step 3a: Kingdom

Reptile Bird Amphibian Fish

Mammal

To which kingdom does the animal you selected belong to?

Step 4a: Communication Does this animal demonstrate an ability to communicate

beyond breeding and child guarding, in nature?

Communication is a staple to developmental abilities, and teach/trainability. It is asked only about in nature because some domesticated animals are never introduced to another of their species and thus never hone this ability, a problem that wouldn’t develop in nature.

Yes No

Step 5a: MemoryDoes the being in question demonstrate an extensive

memory, letting extensive mean it will remember and act similarly to something it hasn’t encountered within 1 month

or more?

Memory is the key to intelligence, a step further down the chain. Without memory no one could develop intelligence, because we can utilize a learned ability we must remember it.

Yes No

Step 6a: IntelligenceDoes the animal exhibit the ability to learn no abilities that it isn’t born with instinctual predilection to? Examples would include tool using, or learning to manipulate human tools

such as door knobs or drawers.

Intelligence implies many things the greater it is in a species. It makes animals capable of training, communication outside its own species, and other steps up the ladder of consciousness and human like features.

Yes No

Step 7a: EmotionCan highly developed emotions be seen in this animal, beyond happy, sad, or anger, such as jealousy or grief,

that can be verifiably identified?

It may not seem that emotion is important in the test of consciousness and deserving human rights, but we aren’t just measuring whether the individual but also its family and acquaintances will suffer an adverse effect from the decision made about the individual. We are less likely to sentence a caring father to longer sentences than a neglectful adult.

Yes No

Step 8a: Self AwarenessDoes your animal upon reaching maturity pass the mirror

test, an objective test of a creatures ability to identify itself?

Self awareness is the final step in being developed enough to deserve complete human rights. It demonstrates that an animal must be intelligent, have a strong memory, and have perceptive ability in order to discern its actions are the same as its reflection. The addendum that they must be at maturity avoids challenging a still developing mind, such as a young human child that may not pass the test.

Yes No

Step 2b: Manual or AutomaticDoes the machine in question run on its own

(automatically, such as an electrical device) or need human power to work (manually, such as a pencil)?

This questions is solely meant to weed out several simple devices that someone may try to argue have AI because a brain is manipulating them, the human brain.

Manual Automatic

Step 3b: InteractivityHow does the machine in question reactive with intelligent

beings, actively or passively?

If something is responding to stimuli passively, then its responses are prefabricated, and the thing is not thinking on its own, but rather just moving data from point A to point B. Responding actively requires some form of creative ability, and thus not all of its responses are premade.

Actively Passively

Step 4b: CommunicationCan the machine in question communicate without interaction to other intelligent beings through stimuli

outside of electronic signals, such as speech, text, or physical stimuli?

Communication as we saw from the chat bots in class is something that machines, programs, and robots are not very competent at conversation at all and can’t respond at all to slang, or unique questions. To isolate this issue and solve it is key to developing AI.

Yes No

Step 5b: Program or EmbodimentIs the machine in question simply running a program that

acts as AI or is the machine itself running as an AI?

Programs and physical entities differ in a very extensive way. While it is easy for programs to be saved, initiated, turn off and on, and easily mass distributed an actually physical entity is much harder to duplicate, with many more resources, and is less likely to become something found in every home. The problems this would cause if we enable programs to have rights would be catastrophic.

Program Embodiment

Step 6b: Fail-safeIs the machine at hand fail-safe, such that if it is shut down then it will be able to be restarted in the same condition as

it was before?

If a machine has a fail-safe then shutting it down becomes much less of a hazard for all parties because the effect isn’t drastic to turning it off. A fail-safe does have one stipulation it shouldn’t be destroyed because that defeats the purpose of the fail-safe.

Has One Lacks One

Step 7b: EmotionsDoes the machine at hand exhibit emotions relevant to

what is going on?

Emotions in a machine have a much different weight of influence than on animals. Several computer programs exhibit “emotions,” as we program them. The question posed here is whether the emotions come without direct input, but by environmental and interactive changes, and are appropriate for the situation, such as abandonment when left alone for awhile or angry due to rudeness.

Yes No

Step 8b: Self AwarenessIs the machine at hand aware of its own existence such

that it could identify itself from several recorded answers to questions? (Several questions asked of several output

baring things)

Although this was the last step for animals, for machines it isn’t but does have a strong baring on whether or not a machine deserves human rights. If a computer is not aware of itself, than shutting it down has no real effect on the machines “mental being,” just its physical being.

Yes No

Step 9b: PainCan the machine in question experience pain, either

emotionally or physically?

Where pain doesn’t measure in at all for animals it is the single most important thing for computers, especially emotional pain. If something can’t feel any kind of pain, then it is hard to see why shutting it down or destroying would violate it, or why it would deserve human rights.

Yes No

Step 2c: LivingIs the human in question alive?

Although dead people deserve the utmost respect and shouldn’t be violated certain human rights are forfeited upon death.

Yes No

Step 3c: Mentally AbleIs the person in question mentally able enough to take care of themselves with mild or no assistance, in the long run?

Being mentally able, and not relying on machines, or constant intensive care, is important to having human rights. As was the case with Terry Schiavo, at some point someone else needs to step in and start making the decisions for someone including whether they are going to keep receiving the expensive, draining, physical care, that others who can be saved more easily need more. In addition the mentally unstable are a risk to themselves and other with full human rights.

Yes No

Step 4c: HumaneDoes the person in question exhibit humane behavior to

others, such that they aren’t permanently and extensively harming another human.

As you may have assumed this question is used to eliminate people who take away others’ human rights from having human rights. Although an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind, sometimes someone takes too many eyes without due justice.

Humane Inhumane

Invertebrates

If you reached this point you have selected an invertebrate. Here is why your question has ended:

• Invertebrates are the least developed animals in the world. • They live almost solely off instinct and often do not even

communicate in order to mate.• Invertebrates aren’t developing much even now.

Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fish

If you reached this point you selected a vertebrate not from the mammal or bird families.

• These three families have been around almost as invertebrates and developed under very different circumstances then birds and mammals, the last two families to emerge.

• Most of the species of these three families haven’t developed new levels of intelligence or communication since they emerged, because they already had the tools to survive.

• These three families are too tied to instincts to move much further down the evolutionary chain.

Lower Level Mammals, and Birds

The animal you have chosen is one of the lower order mammals or birds.

• These creatures probably spawned from some of the earliest of their families too emerge.

• These creatures are often over populated, mass reproducing species, that survive through sheer number rather than from advanced development.

• These animals are often are lower on the food chain, living in protective, semi-organized packs and survive through this rather than raw intelligence.

Mid Level Mammals, and Top Level Birds

If you have made it this far you have selected one of the most intelligent animals on earth, but not quite top tier.

• These animals exhibit lots of human-like features, are often trainable, but fall short on the intelligence and consciousness level.

• These animals though often domesticated such that humans can get very close to them are slightly below the final curve. These animals do not always respond and often can be troublesome and dangerous.

• The animals that fit into this group do deserve some rights, and can’t be killed as openly as the animals that fall below this category, but can’t be given full human rights.

• Among the rights these animals do deserve is a fair chance before being condemned. The right not to be hunted also, and they should be protected from cruelty and torture actively.

Top Level Mammals

The animals in this group are few and far between and because their high intelligence and their very human like nature deserve human rights.

• These animals are higher than all others because they are tied to us developmentally.

• Additionally how we treat all of these animals not only effects them but effects other of their species greatly.

• These animals generally aren’t intrusive and aren’t brought out of the environment, living in a domestic lifestyle of their own.

Not Full AI Machines

If your machine has failed any test of AI it has ended up here.

• Unlike animals varying levels of rights can’t really be made since each part is so essential to making the machine “alive”

• Machines failing one of the tests not only fall short of humans but even invertebrates because of their lack of higher abilities.

• Most machines fall short due to their lack of a creative nature.

Full AI Machines

No machine of this caliber has been made yet and thus what you used is a fictitious being at this point.

• Full AI Machines are something I very hesitantly give human rights.

• Full AI Machines considering the programming going into them rarely wouldn’t have a fail-safe.

• Also, the creation of such a machine seems impossible without mimicking the human make up.

• A Full AI Machine’s main claim to rights is actually its own inability to choose its environment, and its value as a being, rather than the fact that it is human like.

What Rights Certain Humans Forfeit

• Humans who have passed on only lose their rights to property, and habitat, otherwise they should be treated with usual respect.

• Humans who are mentally disabled to a high degree are a testy situation but they do eventually forfeit their right to choose if their treatment continues, only because of the strain it puts on others and the fact that they have lost all of the traits that made them human mentally. If they are mentally incapable to a low degree may forfeit their right to property, or habitat.

• Humans who are convicted of heinous crimes forfeit all of their rights with the exception of being tortured themselves. These people do deserve harsh punishment including death, but no one deserves torture.

Normal Human

What you have selected is a normal (enough) human by court standards and deserves full human rights.

Questions that didn’t make it: Animals

• Pain: Pain isn’t included because almost all living creatures feel pain and to give all animals human rights would be ineffective.

• Senses: Similar to pain far too many creatures exhibit the five senses to extend them all human rights.

• Specific skills: For each specific skill we allow extensions another skill has an argument.

Questions that didn’t make it: Machines

• Senses: Although senses are a key factor for animals and humans, they do not have a direct relation to intelligence and consciousness.

• Mobility: Similar to senses, just because something doesn’t have the capability to move doesn’t mean it doesn’t experience consciousness, for example, paraplegics.

What I consider Human Rights

Human Rights include:

• The right to live

• The right to habitat

• The right to property

• The right to confirm or deny

• The right to safety

• The right to respect

Final Notes• No animal is deserving or torture or unprovoked genocide• While humans are the most intelligent animals that doesn’t give us

the right to decide what lives and dies on a whim• Each case for this test must be done on an individual basis and in

the case of an unique anomaly it may fail• This test is only made for the objective purpose of court, how much

we love and cherish animals varies greatly and we shouldn’t take animals for granted.

• Without other animals humans would never have existed, remember that.

• Just as something created us we created machines, but we have more responsibility for our creations for we will always be their creators.

• Before we develop AI a deep analysis of the outcome should be made, and we should consider what to give and not to give this AI.

• To use this test again press next.

Thank You

I’d like to thank everyone who takes my test and would love for people to test it out and comment on what they think of their own results. With that said once again remember this is an objective side only argument like the situation presented in,

Leiber, Justin (1985) Can Animals and Machines be Persons? A Dialogue. Hackett Publishing. And using similar arguments to

Rosenblueth, A., N. Wiener, and J. Bigelow (1940) "Behavior, Purpose, and Teleology", Philosophy of Science, 10, p. 18.