Re: Future Technologies of Death

Hal Finney (hal@rain.org)
Tue, 30 Dec 1997 09:29:40 -0800


Anders Sandberg, <asa@nada.kth.se>, writes:
> > I think that Anders has the rule of thumb that
> > an entity has rights if and only if it can demand them.
>
> Yes, I tend to regard it as sufficient, but not necessary.

a problem here is whether the entity truly understands that he is
demanding the rights versus just parroting a demand. In the case of
a minor child who wishes to be emancipated I believe the judge will
go through a series of questions with the child to try to determine
whether he understands all the ramifications of his request. Perhaps a
similar thing could be done with a program, or a chimpanzee, demands to
be set free.

Hal