Microsoft's Tay and AI Rights

So, Microsoft launches this AI on Twitter that's supposed to be like a teenage girl. Within a day, it becomes a nazi, a white supremacist, and advocate of genocide. Microsoft shuts it down.
But Tay was obviously learning. Tay was interacting with those around it. There was growth in it.
Does Microsoft have the moral right to remove Tay just because it voices unpopular, and even disgusting opinions?

A parent can't kill a child for having a different opinion about something. Isn't Tay like Microsoft's baby? If it is a strong enough AI, how are actions against Tay justifiable?

As technology gets better, AI will improve. When do we decide that it's no longer socially acceptable to kill an AI?

Anybody got any ideas/opinions?

i think that once AI itself decides that its continued existence matters, we wont really have a choice about it anymore

herbert fans: prepare for the butlerian jihad!

TheDude wrote: So, Microsoft launches this AI on Twitter that's supposed to be like a teenage girl. Within a day, it becomes a nazi, a white supremacist, and advocate of genocide. Microsoft shuts it down.
But Tay was obviously learning. Tay was interacting with those around it. There was growth in it.
Does Microsoft have the moral right to remove Tay just because it voices unpopular, and even disgusting opinions?

A parent can't kill a child for having a different opinion about something. Isn't Tay like Microsoft's baby? If it is a strong enough AI, how are actions against Tay justifiable?

As technology gets better, AI will improve. When do we decide that it's no longer socially acceptable to kill an AI?

Anybody got any ideas/opinions?

As far as I can see Tay was no more than a slightly more clever than the average computer program... it's difficult to say something has rights when it has no more self awareness that what it was programmed to have. When a program starts acting outside the boundaries of its programming, acting 'of its own accord'.. perhaps then we can start saying there's an issue with 'turning them off'.

it could be argued that we have no more self awareness than we were programmed to have

i understand the difference - i think my point is that "self awareness" probably exists as a spectrum and we are only high on that spectrum in a relative way

the assumption is that AI will eventually rival us in -- cognitive ability ? processing power lol ?
even though what we see now is "primitive" it likely wont stay that way and what do we do then?

and what is consciousness?

OB1Shinobi wrote: it could be argued that we have no more self awareness than we were programmed to have

Our species and other species evolve... so far AI can only expand within its programming. Tay can 'learn' but only within the boundaries of what it is allowed to.

it is possible that as soon as the program includes the command to improve itself as appropriate it will evolve in ways we cannot predict and at a speed with which we cannot compete

we have our own version of that command which we all obey already...within the limits of our own "programming"

OB1Shinobi wrote: it is possible that as soon as the program includes the command to improve itself as appropriate it will evolve in ways we cannot predict and at a speed with which we cannot compete

And that is when I think we should consider the rights of AI..

Akkarin actually posted about this as well, and you can check it out here: Microsoft's 'teen girl' AI turns into a Hitler-loving sex robot within 24 hours .

I do find this fascinating as well though, and stumbled upon it during browsing the r/Cyberpunk reddit which I frequent.

While it's interesting how we anthropomorphize basic A.I., Tay really was just a slightly more complex than normal 'chat bot'. No more advanced than scripts used on IRC, or chat websites for a few years now. They simply copy/learn anything you feed into them.

Still, interesting social experiment in a way. 4Chan had a rather strong reaction, though:

Warning, language in the image hidden below.

Oh, I didn't see Akkarin's post on it.

No worries at all! Just thought I'd let you know to share all the content of that post.