What happens when AI becomes conscious? Philosopher Peter Singer explores the ethical dilemma that could follow the creation of sentient machines. If AI can feel pain or experience pleasure, do we have a moral obligation to protect it?

Singer argues that governments, scientists, and ethicists must prepare now for the rights and protections conscious AI may require.

0:00 Will we create conscious AI?

1:30 The ethical dilemma of sentient AI

1:56 Does AI deserve rights?

2:48 How we treat sentient AI

3:42 Experts in AI

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About Peter Singer:

Peter Singer has been described as the world’s most influential philosopher. Born in Melbourne in 1946, he has been professor of bioethics at Princeton University since 1999. His many books include Animal Liberation - often credited with triggering the modern animal rights movement - Practical Ethics, The Life You Can Save, The Most Good You Can Do, and Ethics in the Real World. In 2023, he published Animal Liberation Now, a fully revised and updated version of the 1975 original.

Singer’s writings have also inspired the movement known as effective altruism, and he is the founder of the charity The Life You Can Save. In 2021 he was awarded the $1 million Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture, which he donated to nonprofit organizations working for the causes he supports. In 2023 he received the Frontiers of Knowledge Prize for the Humanities, from the Spanish BBVA Foundation.

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