Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 AI & SOCIETY https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-021-01266-1 OPEN FORUM “I Am Not Your Robot:” the metaphysical challenge of humanity’s AIS ownership Tyler L. Jaynes 1 Received: 2 January 2021 / Accepted: 12 August 2021 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2021 Abstract Despite the reality that self-learning artifcial intelligence systems (SLAIS) are gaining in sophistication, humanity’s focus regarding SLAIS-human interactions are unnervingly centred upon transnational commercial sectors and, most generally, around issues of intellectual property law. But as SLAIS gain greater environmental interaction capabilities in digital spaces, or the ability to self-author code to drive their development as algorithmic models, a concern arises as to whether a system that displays a “deceptive” level of human-like engagement with users in our physical world ought to be uniquely protected. Although many voices in the legal and technology realms have continued to argue against unique protections for digital entities, the fact at hand is that SLAIS design is becoming increasingly anthropomorphic so as to make these systems more capable of interacting with a wide range of (potentially) vulnerable populations—generally as a means to enhance these populations’ overall well-being. To frame this concern in a diferent way, the specifc question at hand is whether a human’s “ownership” of such an advanced SLAIS is legal, considering that it (or they) may possess intelligence on par with a human or a convincing-enough display of such behaviour. Given that “ownership” over entities with (seemingly) intelligent behav- iours consistent with human populations has been efectively banned by the international community, an examination into this subject and its implications is wholly necessary given humanity’s quest to exist solely in digital environments through whatever means possible. Keywords Artifcial intelligence · Bioethics · Legal personality · Rights · Property ownership · Virtual environments 1 Introduction Humans are becoming increasingly engaged in digital spaces—the global pandemic notwithstanding this trend, given its anomalous status as a driver to humanity’s digital connectivity and dependency. This change is no accident, much as how the discovery of other means to automate tasks humans would normally perform were similarly not acci- dental. In a very real sense, it is but an aspect of human nature to continuously develop tools so that our individual well-being is enhanced in some way that is meaningful (to ourselves, if not for others as well). Unlike these other tech- nological artefacts, however, the algorithms that comprise deep neural networks and the self-learning artifcial intel- ligence systems (SLAIS) that arise from their implementa- tion are not stagnant. Rather, the intentionality behind their design have resulted in unique artefacts that can acquire information and present their fndings in a manner akin to what we would expect of our fellow Homo sapiens (Insa- Cabrera et al. 2012; Jaynes, 2021c; 332, 337). That is not to This title intentionally mimics that of the 2016 documentary by Raoul Peck titled I Am Not Your Negro, as the aim of this essay is to examine whether sufciently advanced artifcial intelligence systems (AIS) that cannot be distinguished from a human ought to be considered “intelligent” at the same level as humans—and therefore whether our claims of ownership over them amount to a new form of slavery. For as radical as this notion is, this text was developed with the question of how the “humans” can be distinguished from the AIS in digital environments if no limiters are placed on the capabilities of the algorithms, as “human” behaviour can be exhibited in a wide range of forms that include those diagnosed with intellectual disabilities to those with extraordinary “knowledge” and sociopathic mannerisms—or rather, from the “low” end of the human IQ scale to the “high” end to phrase things in plainer terms. * Tyler L. Jaynes tyler.l.jaynes@gmail.com 1 Albany Medical College, Alden March Bioethics Institute, 47 New Scotland Avenue, MC 153, Albany, NY 12208, USA