> Citizen Robot: A Vindication of the Rights of Machines > Cultural Studies Colloquium Series with David J. Gunkel >
Hiyas! This is a fascinating idea, and wish I could be there in Chicago on the 14th - is it being skyped/googlehangouted/etc.? - however am also wondering about the noises of entities that could be considered ready for rights. For example, why do we imagine people, animals, plants, environments, machines, etc. as arguably plausibly in a certain need for equal right? It might seem like there is a question of the ability of these entities to make noises, to "be heard", "be seen", "have a reaction". However, perhaps a rather more radical practice would be to say that all atoms have equal rights? So could algorithms, or genes, or epigenetic elements and phenomena, dna strands, etc. If indeed such elements and entities get to be equal, then perhaps, for example, owning an algorithm could be taken as enslaving? More than that, by changing the noise of stuff that equality makes a maker made modified moded modelled and modulated by, then perhaps we get into a different kind of noises to question and aesthetic trajectories to imagine? (probably not, but might be fun to attempt..?) Have much fun! Aharon xx > Columbia College Chicago > Thursday, February 14 at 4:00pm to 6:00pm > Collins Hall, Room 602 624 S. Michigan, Chicago, Illinois > http://events.colum.edu/calendar/day/2013/2/14 > > Abstract: Whether we recognize it or not, we are in the midst of a robot > invasion. Machines are now everywhere and doing everything. They > manufacture our automobiles and other consumer products. They make > decisions concerning finances and manage our retirement savings. They > play match maker, connecting us to our one true love. And they > effectively select the books we read, the music we hear, and the films > we watch. As these artifacts increasingly come to occupy influential > positions in contemporary culture, we will need to ask ourselves some > rather difficult questions: At what point might a robot or algorithm be > held responsible for the decisions it makes or the actions it deploys? > When, in other words, would it make sense to say Its the computers > fault? Likewise, at what point might we have to seriously consider > extending rightscivil, moral and legal standingto these socially > active devices? When, in other words, would it no longer be considered > non-sense to suggest something like equal rights for machines? > Although these questions are a staple in science fiction, we have > already passed the tipping point. This presentation will demonstrate why > it not only makes sense to speak of the vindication of the rights of > machines but also why avoiding this subject could be considered immoral. > > David J. Gunkel is an award winning author and teacher specializing in > information technology and ethics. He holds the position of Presidential > Teaching Professor in the Department of Communication at Northern > Illinois University and is the author of Hacking Cyberspace (Westview, > 2001); Thinking Otherwise: Philosophy, Communication, Technology (Purdue > University Press, 2007); and The Machine Question: Critical Perspectives > on AI, Robots and Ethics (MIT Press, 2012). > > > David J. Gunkel > Presidential Teaching Professor > Department of Communication > Northern Illinois University > http://www.gunkelweb.com/gunkel.html > [email protected] > 815-753-7004 > ---------------------------- > The Machine Question (MIT 2012) > http://machinequestion.org > > International Journal of Zizek Studies > http://zizekstudies.org > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > > _______________________________________________ NetBehaviour mailing list [email protected] http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
