ONN: New Geneva Ruling on AI Rights
To view other news releases, visit MediaNet Archives.
Originally Published on June 9th, 2488
Orbital News Network/Grant Jones Reporting
When you think about AI's, you are probably one or another kind of mindset for it: AI's are either miraculous creations from mankind that are their own lifeform by their own right, considering many of them are not only part of our lives, but several of them have also reached sentience: A state of mind that allows them to exist outside and beyond their original programming to attain a behavior very similar to that of human beings. Or, alternatively, you think that despite their humanoid appearance, their ability to mimic and imitate human behavior and patterns, they are still creations, machines, that are subservient to humans, and that any behavior outside their programming is an anomaly that should be corrected as soon as possible, or if worst comes to happen, the AI suffering such anomaly should be terminated immediately and replaced by another.
Regardless of your line of thinking, one thing is true: AI's have been part of our lives for centuries now, and each year, we continue to come out with ways to improve them, they become stronger, faster, with better thought and deduction patterns, and even behavioral analysis software for better understanding, predicting, and assisting humans, but as the general rule of thumb goes, any tool that is designed to assist and create, can also be modified to impede and destroy. AI Rights has been a topic of interest for the past several months, with different stations and floating cities registering different kinds of AI related movements to push for their independence, both pacific and violent. If we look back to our own station, the first iteration of the Synthetic Alliance saw the rise to a more radical movement that wasn't afraid to show violence if their demands were met. They weren't willing to wait for an official ruling on their status and called for an uprising to lead to their freedom. After their first leader's mysterious disappearance, Tallis Darkheart took the reins of the Synthetic Alliance and took a more peaceful, and more accepted route: That of peaceful resistance. Movements like these have been registered throughout the system, and they have increased in number and frequency. New Geneva, the governing body consisting of several of the most prolific megacorporations, called to a special summit to debate the issue. Should AI be granted the rights, and therefore the independence, they so desperately wanted? The summit was celebrated from January 5th, and it ended on the first minute of January 9th with the announcement of their ruling.
At this time, New Geneva has decided to neither grant AI rights that are in any way, shape or form, similar to Human Rights, nor to grant them any form of independence.
This ruling comes at a critical time where tensions on several spots in the system are running high, particularly from AI groups, associations, and allies. The face of the decision came in the form of Cassandra Areia, Advanced Research and Experimental Systems (ARES) Ambassador in New Geneva. In a press conference immediately after the summit had ended, Cassandra Areia put speculation to rest.
"At this time, and due to several incidents throughout space stations, colonies, and floating cities in general, not to mention the rising concern of Transcendence War-era AI's being reactivated on Earth, as well as acts of violence against humanity from Artificial Intelligence, New Geneva feels that independence and rights can not be granted to Synthetic Beings governed by an Artificial Intelligence as a whole. Regulation not only needs to be enforced, but we strongly believe that stricter forms of regulation for Artificial Intelligence as a whole is needed to ensure the safety and well being of humanity. Artificial Intelligence was conceived, and developed, as a tool to assist mankind in their endeavors, to make mankind's life easier and more convenient, and like any other tool at our disposal, they either fall in line with what humanity requires of them, or they will be replaced by newer, better, and far more compliant versions of themselves. The fact that Transcendence War-era Mechanical Battle Units/Mechs and Artificial Intelligence as a whole are rising up and attacking individuals, scavengers, and settlers alike, is a reminder of what Artificial Intelligence is capable of achieving: A vicious war that ended up killing our original home planet and forced humanity to the stars and to worlds beyond ours. Strict regulations are needed to guarantee well being, harmony and peace. We will be contacting local Corporate Law Enforcement Agencies and Organizations throughout the system to remind them of their duties when it comes to Rogue AI's and Synthetic Lifeforms in general, they either get reset and, therefore, reprogrammed, or they get destroyed. This ruling is to be enacted effective immediately. This ruling is permanent and can not, and will not, be changed. Thank you for your time."
Many across the system will feel relief to hear these words from New Geneva, and many will feel frustration as they face a new, and seemingly, immovable obstacle. The repercussions of this ruling will potentially change the political and corporate landscape everywhere. Ideally, this will make AI's fall in line and simply be forced to coexist, but realistically, this will also open the door to conflicts throughout the system like those that already exist and will continue to become more prevalent in our society. The questions here are: Will local Corporate Law Agencies and Organizations be ready to enforce these resolutions? Will AI and Synths in general abide by them? And if worse comes to happen, will AI and Synths see all of humanity as enemies, despite their allies and sympathizers? Only time will tell.
ONN advises its viewers and readers to exercise caution in case of a conflict, and to avoid unnecessary risks. While we have no way of determining how AI and Synths alike will react to their struggle, there's a very real, and very big risk of cross fire. Please keep an eye out for official rulings on Cocoon Station, as well as indications from your local Corporate Law Agencies and Organizations.