Could Robots Have Rights: An Intersection of Science Fiction and Philosophy

Could robots have rights? Or, to quote the title of a paper by my late colleague Anand Vaidya, “Can machines have moral standing?” In this paper, I’ll summarize Vaidya’s paper in which he argues that machines can have moral standing in light of his claim that sentience is not a necessary condition for moral standing. I’ll think through the paper’s examples of zombies, Vulcans, and robots from a science fictional point of view informed by sources like The Walking Dead, Star Trek, and Bladerunner. I’ll also consider Vaidya’s mention of Buddhism through a deeper analysis of the role of suffering in Buddhist philosophy. I’ll end with questions designed to elicit engagement from the reader: Do philosophers’ uses of zombies, Vulcans, and robots make sense to us as science fiction fans? What can non-Western traditions like Buddhism and Jainism add to these conversations? Could robots, AI chatbots, machines, animals, or aliens have at least some rights? Does science fiction help us find the answers, or at least help us ask better questions? This presentation will be organized by the Science Fiction and Philosophy Society, of which Vaidya was a co-founder along with myself and Manjula Menon. My goal is to continue Vaidya’s conversation in his honor.