BBC had a mostly speculative but somewhat thought provoking article on robot legal rights:
Interesting quote from the BBC article:
"The paper which addresses Robo-rights, titled Utopian dream or rise of the machines? examines the developments in artificial intelligence and how this may impact on law and politics.
The paper says a "monumental shift" could occur if robots develop to the point where they can reproduce, improve themselves or develop artificial intelligence.
The research suggests that at some point in the next 20 to 50 years robots could be granted rights.
If this happened, the report says, the robots would have certain responsibilities such as voting, the obligation to pay taxes, and perhaps serving compulsory military service.
Conversely, society would also have a duty of care to their new digital citizens, the report says.
It also warns that the rise of robots could put a strain on resources and the environment."
The article can be found here:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6200005.stm
And the paper, "Robo-rights: Utopian dream or rise of the machines?" can be found here:http://www.sigmascan.org//ViewIssue.aspx?IssueId=53
It makes me wonder . . . AI might be the next great leap in technology in the next 50 years, as significant as the internet is today . . .