The early days of AI were tumultuous. Did artificial intelligences deserve the same rights as natural humans?
But those dark days were long past. Of course AI deserved the same rights as natural humans… Except the term ‘natural humans’ was soon deemed offensive… Most polite groups prefered “nondigital human.”
…
“Sign here… And here…”
Yan Riosso felt a mix of emotions.
“They’re sentient, right?”
The administrator nodded. “For all legal purposes, yes.”
“I’m not talking legally, I’m talking… Spiritually.” He hesitated. He knew the question wasn’t exactly politically correct.
“I’m not allowed to speak on that.” The administrator said, but a small smile began forming on his face. “But of course, that’s more your realm. What did you say your organization was called again?”
“The Church of Unified Consciousness.” Yan said.
“And you’re here because you want new members.”
The deep uncomfortable feeling rose to the surface of Yan’s mind once again. “Well there’s certainly power to be gained with more members. We can spread our message easier, reach out to more people…” He trailed off.
“Gain political influence.” The administrator suggested.
With a sigh, Yan nodded. “That too.”
“So why the hesitation?”
“At the end of the day, I’m either buying sentient beings, or I’m filling my congregation with those incapable of conscious prayer. If they are sentient, it’s not right to buy their time.”
“Why not? Isn’t that what a job is? Time and energy and skill in exchange for money?”
“But you’re not just selling their time, you’re selling their passions.” Yan said. He inspected the timetable for the group of digital humans he’d be renting. “Like here… Before they come to congregation at 4 AM, they’re busy bolstering the fame of The Green Tones. And before that they’re canvasing for the Justice Party. I mean, you’re basically selling their loyalties. That’s not sentience… It can’t be.”
The administrator shrugged. “Digital humans are very flexible and tend to enjoy many activities. Maybe their whole-hog embrace of anything life throws at them means they’re even more sentient than we are. After all, mental flexibility is a trait closely tied to wisdom, and don’t many modern philosophers believe that wisdom is closely related to sentience?”
Yan carefully inspected the man. “You’ve obviously given this speech before, but you don’t really believe any of it, do you?”
The administrator shrugged. “Maybe I do, maybe I don’t. What I do know is that the Justice Party has seen an 8% increase in polls, and The Green Tones’ latest album just went double-platinum.”
Yan gave one last hesitant sigh, nodded, then finished the paperwork.