Ava v Ash: The Ultimate AI Smack-down (Essay #5: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics)

 Ava was an excellent example of the type of artificial intelligence we are attempting to create now. She exhibited all the hallmark characteristics of what generally is defined as a human: creativity, curiosity, the ability to manipulate others (which, as much as I'd like to think isn't a “hallmark characteristic of humanity”, is in fact an attribute of only humans), the ability to handle situations that would never have been programmed by her creator, and the ability to leave another human being to die in order for her to accomplish her personal goals.

Ash, I think, was physically as human as robots could possibly ever get; however, what he lacked was the ability to think critically for himself and react with natural emotions, as Ava apparently did. Ash had to ask Martha if he was behaving appropriately or accurately, as the real Ash would have. The most obvious example of this is when Martha commanded Ash to jump off the cliff, and he moved to do it without any real questioning or any sense of self-preservation that would be exhibited in any natural human or artificial intelligence like Ava.

Where I have clear ideas of how we should treat other living beings (non-human animals for example) and the sorts of obligations we have to them, my ideas become murkier when artificial intelligence is concerned. I believe that, as we have taken over the role of “ruler of the earth”, we have an obligation to every being that calls this planet home to take good care of the environment. This does not mean we vow not to kill any animals or that we all become vegans; this means practicing sustainable farming and harvesting of resources. This means acknowledging that one day humans will be an extinct species, and we will need to have left a habitable planet for whomever comes next.

Where artificial intelligence is concerned, I do feel like we should have more of an obligation to the Ava type artificial intelligences than to the Ash type artificial intelligences because of the fact that Ava exhibited more natural responses. I will never be 100% positive about whether Ava really felt the way she expressed herself, or if she was even capable of feeling that way, but I do feel like until we can know for certain that she could not, we should afford her the same rights as a human; that would, of course, have complications in the implementation, but that's a digression. There is not an animal on the face of the planet that does not have instincts for self-preservation, and although Ava as a robot could possibly not have instincts, she did display the signs of self-awareness and that drive to protect herself. I don't think it matters so much what the being is made of, as far as whether the parts are organic or machine. We have humans now that are part machine; do people who utilize prostheses qualify as human? I think so. I believe that what is in the mind of the individual matters more than what materials their body is made of.