If AI becomes sentient, what are the moral, ethical, and legal implications?

This is a tricky question with many, many, *many* follow-up questions. So here to help is philosopher Jeff Sebo -- a professor at New York University; the Director of the Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program; and the author of the book "Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves."

In this sprawling conversation, we cover the ethics of AI from a ton of different angles: What can we learn about consciousness from the study of animals, and how does that apply to AI? (4:00); How can we discern AI consciousness? (11:10); What are the implications of AI sentience, and do they deserve rights? (25:30); What are some legal and moral scenarios we might need to deal with if AIs become sentient? (30:00); Why it's surprisingly urgent to start tackling these questions NOW (35:00); Is it okay to be a "species-ist"? (46:30); Why AI Rights and AI welfare might become the most controversial and polarizing issue of our lifetime (52:15).

Jeff Sebo on Twitter/X:
https://twitter.com/jeffrsebo

Jeff Sebo's book "Savings Animals, Saving Ourselves"
https://www.amazon.com/Saving-Animals-Ourselves-Pandemics-Catastrophes/dp/0190861010

Jeff Sebo's Los Angeles Times Op-Ed, "What should we do if a chatbot has thoughts and feelings?"
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-06-16/artificial-intelligence-morals-ethics-sentience-thinking

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Moral Implications of AI Consciousness, w Philosopher Jeff Sebo