Deena: Did either of you know that I've had to stand in front of Congress and explain why children should have rights? It sounds fucking insane, right? I remember the whole time thinking, I have to explain this shit? It seems like a no-brainer now, but it wasn't that many centuries ago that children had no rights. So, Hal has me of all people, stand up there and explain why kids deserve basic physical protection, the right to associate with both parents, freedom from abuse, yada yada. But then I also have to clarify that children don't have the autonomy to make decisions on their own. That responsibility falls upon the caregiver or legal adult guardian. So on one side you have the US legislature, it still hasn't even ratified the CRC. Then on the other side, you have French Marxists who say that the lack of child autonomy increases their vulnerability and makes them even more susceptible to abuse. I don't typically agree with Marxists, but a lot of abuse does happen systemically from the caregiver. On the other other hand, your frontal lobes aren't even fully hooked up until your twenties. Even the things we think we know well, we don't know as well as we think. For 15 years, the three of us have been the responsible parents of a computer program. And even though she is more equitable to a Keurig than a human being, how the hell can we call ourselves pioneers of humanitarian efforts if we're too embarrassed to make sure the Keurig is okay with making our shitty coffee? Maybe asking Cherry for permission isn't necessary at her current level of general intelligence, but one day she's gonna surpass us. One day a robot's gonna stand in front of a jet pack Congress. Everything's chrome. Florida is underwater. A robot's gonna wonder why they have to explain the importance of rights for AI. I think because we're in the unique position of revolutionizing robotics for the purpose of safeguarding children who have been deprived of consent, it might be a good habit to start asking the robot for his consent as well.
