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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 May 2018
Humans is a science fiction television series set in what appears to be present-day London. What makes it science fiction is that in London and worldwide, there are robots that look like humans and can mimic human behavior. The series raises several important ethical and philosophical questions about artificial intelligence and robotics, which should be of interest to bioethicists.
1. Markoff J. As aging population grows, so do robotic health aides. The New York Times online December 4, 2015; available at https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/08/science/as-aging-population-grows-so-do-robotic-health-aides.html (last accessed 20 July 2017).
2. See, for example, Lee K-F. The real threat of artificial intelligence. The New York Times online, June 24, 2017; available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/24/opinion/sunday/artificial-intelligence-economic-inequality.html (last accessed 20 July 2017).
3. In a scene in Episode 3, we see the title page of Arthur Koestler’s The Ghost in the Machine with an inscription written by David Elster, the scientist who designed and created sentient robots. It reads, “To Niska [a sentient robot], ‘Primum Non Nocere’ Love D.E.” Is there a suggestion that this Hippocratic dictum should guide the design, production, and utilization of robots?
4. See, for example, Turner R. Dementia patients using robots, virtual reality to engage. ABC News Australia online, April 2, 2017; availablea at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-02/dementia-patients-look-to-new-technology-to-communicate/8406260 (last accessed 20 July 2017).
5. Despite her denial that nonsentient synths have rights, Laura does not consider Anita to be a mere machine. After Joe admits to Laura in Episode 5 that he has had sex with Anita, he attempts to minimize its significance by saying that she is only a machine, not a person, and he call her a “sex toy.” Laura is appalled: “She [Anita] lives in our house. She looks after our children. She saved our son’s life [by preventing him from being hit by a car while riding his bike]. And you’re calling her a sex toy?”
6. Ironically, Episode 1 includes a skeptical statement about the possibility of developing sentient robots. In a continuation of the television interview about robots mentioned previously, the scientist comments on the difficulty/infeasibility of creating sentient synths who could think or feel: “How can we replicate something we hardly understand in ourselves? How would we even know if we succeeded?...Think of the problems to solve before we get there [create a conscious synth]. What is human emotion? For example, what is love? Is it something we are born with or can it be learned? And what about the darker feelings: fear, anger, violence? Human consciousness is not complete without them. And memory—ours are subjective, fallible. But how do you teach a computer to forget; or to dream? It’s something our minds need to do. Would a conscious synth have to be able to dream? To have nightmares? Of course not. They’re just machines.”
7. The moral and legal status of sentient robots is a central issue in the second season. It will be addressed in a subsequent article about that season.
8. As noted previously, Fred is black.
9. There is no suggestion that they have had or desire sexual relations with each other.
10. In Episode 8, when Leo begs Beatrice/Karen to help prevent Max’s destruction, he says “Max is a machine, but he’s got more humanity than anyone.”
