Shades of Dred Scott

[khaosworks]

I suppose you could call this legal future history...

Biocyberethics: should we stop a company from unplugging an intelligent computer?
by Martine Rothblatt

Attorney Dr. Martine Rothblatt filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent a corporation from disconnecting an intelligent computer in a mock trial at the International Bar Association conference in San Francisco, Sept. 16, 2003. The issue could arise in a real court within the next few decades, as computers achieve or exceed the information processing capability of the human mind and the boundary between human and machine becomes increasingly blurred.

(See also the B1 Trials comic strip that was part of the backstory to The Matrix)

Comments

[osj.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...TNG's The Measure Of A Man anyone? Or that rather silly later season episode with the exocomps? Or the one with the Nannites?

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

"Measure of Man" would be most relevant, but this is interesting because it uses current legal precedent. "Quality of Life" (the exocomp episode) and "Evolution" (the nanite) episode didn't have any trial on screen.

There was one Voyager episode (I think "Author, Author") about the right of the Doctor to be recognized as a creator for the purposes of copyrighting a holonovel.

[osj.livejournal.com]

Or even better..."What are you doing, Dave?"...