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| untitled image, By Franck V., Source Unsplash; words added by author |
I just posted on the Rosella Tolfree site a blog posting as a follow up to some responses to a few comments on my Facebook page. I had commented on Medium article that in Rosella Tolfree's world humanity has turned to the use of androids for human reproduction and child care. The commenters took issue with this including the standard idea of robotic slavery (a common sci-fi theme).
Are my female A-4 androids a slave stand-in? No. Do societies in Rosella's world treat them like slaves? Yes and no. Some places like Germany see the A-4s as not equal to humans, but in the U.S. it's more complex. Some U.S. states give them certain protections due to their human reproductive nature. The problem is socially all A-4s are leased out to people from the manufacturers. From this legal reality all A-4s are nothing more than a machine despite their advance A.I. nature.
What readers need to understand is at this point in time humanity has managed to create a machine that's very close to being a human in thought and behavior. Societies across the planet now are struggling with the moral realities that come with these facts.