Episode 120: Robots, Data, and a New Category of Being

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast

Guest: Thea Weiss According to one line of thought, the emergence of robots and artificial intelligence has engendered a brand-new category of being. How should we flesh-and-blood creatures treat these synthetic entities? In part two of an interview with University of Washington psychologist and astrobiologist Thea Weiss, we discuss a study that examined whether children ascribed mental states, civil rights, and moral standing to a robot named Robovie—and how this study relates to the battle over Data's self-determination in TNG: "The Measure of a Man." Short video describing Thea's lab's research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEKrTa_z-zk&t=2s Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Thea: https://twitter.com/TheaWeiss17