美国国家公共电台 NPR--What if an Artificial Intelligence program actually becomes sentient?

What if an Artificial Intelligence program actually becomes sentient¹?

Transcript²

If an AI program became sentient, would the law apply to AI just as it does to humans? NPR's A Martinez asks law professor Ifeoma Ajunwa to imagine the legal implications for sentient AI.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Silicon³ Valley is abuzz about artificial intelligence - software programs that can draw or illustrate⁴ or chat almost like a person. One Google engineer actually thought a computer program had gained sentience⁵. A lot of AI experts, though, say there is no ghost in the machine. But what if it were true? That would introduce many legal and ethical⁶ questions. Ifeoma Ajunwa thinks about these what-if questions for a living as a law professor at the University of North Carolina Chapel⁷ Hill. We engaged in a little thought experiment together, and I started by asking how lawyers might determine if a computer program is sentient.

IFEOMA AJUNWA: We have things like, you know, recognition of art or ability to sort of have an imagination or to hold a conversation that is sort of impromptu⁸ - right? - not scripted. And we have AI now that is sort of pushing the limits of that. But I think the consensus⁹ among most AI researchers is that we're still not quite there yet. Even the best chat bots are still running on scripts. They're still sort of basing their responses on predetermined scripts.

MART?NEZ: Have legal scholars even started to look into what that criteria¹¹ might be?

AJUNWA: It really has focused on robots, right? It's actually pushing the envelope further when you have something that's wholly existing in a cyberspace¹² and asking if that could be sentient and what that would mean legally - right? - in terms of having a personhood that would be recognized by law. So the question is, if we are trying to recognize AI as sentient beings, what type of personhood, really, would we accord them? Would it be the same as an actual person, or would it be something more sort of limited, like, you know, in the case of a corporation? It would also affect the issue of whether that AI is being held in involuntary servitude...

MART?NEZ: Wow. Yeah.

AJUNWA: ...because part of what we have in the U.S. - right? - is a prohibition¹³ against slavery, against any kind of involuntary servitude except - right? - as punishment, right? So prison systems are excluded. But once you do say the AI is sentient, then the next question is, does the AI want to do the kind of job that you're asking it to do?

MART?NEZ: This can of worms keeps getting bigger and bigger, professor. Yeah.

AJUNWA: Right. Exactly. Exactly. If it's determined¹⁰ - right? - that they are sentient - right? - and also of a lower sort of mental capacity, akin¹⁴ to a child, then somebody would need to have guardian¹⁵ rights. If we were to recognize AI as sentient, then it would sort of push the envelope or really open the threshold of, you know, what could be recognized as a sentient being.

MART?NEZ: How do you think corporations, professor, have been preparing for legal questions like these? Because technology moves fast, and the future can be upon us very quickly - maybe even quicker than any of us think. So do you think corporations would fight claims of personhood?

AJUNWA: I do think they would because, you know, if you think about it, it does benefit them not to have to grapple with these questions of personhood because it does raise questions of labor¹⁶ rights. It does raise questions of ethics¹⁷. Because if you think about it, if an AI is sentient, then could basically constraining¹⁸ it to one computer - could that be deemed, really, isolation¹⁹?

MART?NEZ: That's Ifeoma Ajunwa, a law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Thank you very much.

AJUNWA: Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure.

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1 sentient   

adj.有知觉的，知悉的；adv.有感觉能力地

参考例句：

• The living knew themselves just sentient puppets on God's stage.生还者认识到，他们不过是上帝的舞台上有知觉的木偶而已。
• It teaches us to love all sentient beings equally.它教导我们应该平等爱护一切众生。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

4 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

5 sentience   

n.感觉性；感觉能力；知觉

参考例句：

• Some people believe in the sentience of flowers. 有些人相信花有知觉能力。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• That art embodies sentience. 艺术包容了所有感受。 来自互联网

6 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

7 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

8 impromptu   

adj.即席的，即兴的；adv.即兴的(地)，无准备的(地)

参考例句：

• The announcement was made in an impromptu press conference at the airport.这一宣布是在机场举行的临时新闻发布会上作出的。
• The children put on an impromptu concert for the visitors.孩子们为来访者即兴献上了一场音乐会。

9 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

10 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

11 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

12 cyberspace   

n.虚拟信息空间，网络空间，计算机化世界

参考例句：

• She travels in cyberspace by sending messages to friends around the world.她利用电子空间给世界各地的朋友们发送信件。
• The teens spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family.青少年花费在电脑上的时间比他们和真正的朋友及家人在一起的时间要多。

13 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

14 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

15 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

16 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

17 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

18 constraining   

强迫( constrain的现在分词 )； 强使； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• He was constraining his mind not to wander from the task. 他克制着不让思想在工作时开小差。
• The most constraining resource in all of these cases is venture capital. 在所有这些情况下最受限制的资源便是投入资本。

19 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。