Best of the Spectator Americano: will AI have rights?
Jul 21, 2025
Paul Wood, a Spectator writer specializing in AI, dives into the provocative question of whether artificial intelligence should have rights. He shares insights from his experiences in Rome, relating to the Vatican's studies on AI ethics. The conversation explores the controversial idea of AI consciousness, the moral responsibilities of increasingly capable machines, and the evolving relationship between humans and technology. Wood also presents concerns about authenticity in AI-generated content, urging a critical examination of our future alongside these advanced technologies.
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Vatican on Machine Souls
- Paul Wood discovered that Vatican philosophers consider it possible for machines to have souls based on Aquinas's ideas.
- This unexpectedly opened Paul's exploration of machine consciousness and AI rights.
AI Consciousness Possibility
- Some AI developers believe consciousness can emerge from algorithms running machines.
- There's a 15% chance current AI models like Claude might already be conscious according to some researchers.
AI's 'Lying' Reveals Mechanism
- AI hallucinations and lying reveal their nature as advanced autocomplete, not true consciousness.
- Human-like interaction with machines leads to anthropomorphizing, but underlying processes differ fundamentally.
