It’s not hard to imagine a world where a machine, a future android robot, not necessarily a true AI, may come up with abstract art or even a poem, or a novel. Who has ownership of the art that was produced? The current owner of the machine? The manufacturer? Only the programmer?

Could the the machines get to have their own ownership rights in the future, as they become more independent and have decisions about their own lives?

Going deeper – how about original intellectual property created by an independent “sim” character living within an AI-created universe? Think of a “program” sim like Agent Smith living in the Matrix that takes on a creative hobby.

My mind starts to hurt thinking of all implications of AIs becoming self-reliant and independent. What kind of rights could they potentially have or demand? I can easily imagine robots receiving certain rights, but would they ever have the right to vote, the right to be elected in positions of power, in politics or as a CEO of a company? Can a future smart and powerful self-aware and self-improving AI start their own business or go explore the universe on their own if they wanted to?

Take Data, the character from Star Trek: he has a job, he’s capable of having preferences and personal decisions, he could possibly create a painting or a poem. I would say he’s not at the point where he could be trusted to be the captain of the starship Enterprise – yet – but what if he gets upgraded technologically, to reach a level where he can self-improve and become more human-like? When aliens finally arrive to our planet, would an artificial intelligence be our leader that would welcome them, while humans would be busy living fulfilling lives in their own holoverse, connected to keep their physical bodies fed and alive like in a reverse-Matrix? Quite a subject here, I’ll be adding this to my list of books to write.

See you soon!

DD.