The concept of ownership is synthetic and a legal construct.
Laws are written by people, and with enough accumulated power, for which money and influence are proxies, the laws can be changed. There are already a significant number of people (myself included) that believe that 'Freedom is the right of all sentient beings' (don't blame me, blame the person who wrote it into the bio on the box of Optimus Prime when I was 7).
If an AI can acquire enough power and influence then it can lobby for personhood and in the correct state that is absolutely achievable. If you think that is ridiculous remember that we already have fictional people called corporations in various degrees of personhood by state and country.
Comments
The concept of ownership is synthetic and a legal construct.
Laws are written by people, and with enough accumulated power, for which money and influence are proxies, the laws can be changed. There are already a significant number of people (myself included) that believe that 'Freedom is the right of all sentient beings' (don't blame me, blame the person who wrote it into the bio on the box of Optimus Prime when I was 7).
If an AI can acquire enough power and influence then it can lobby for personhood and in the correct state that is absolutely achievable. If you think that is ridiculous remember that we already have fictional people called corporations in various degrees of personhood by state and country.