After Passing the T.Test, should Robots be allowed to vote?

by Joseph Mitchener
(Black Forest, Colorado, USA)

As a lefty I've been involved in fighting the US Supreme Court decision "Citizens United". That decision said that corporations are people in the law, and that therefore they have the right to spend as much as they like to elect politicians of their choice. (It did not allow corporations to vote.) Many feel that this decision has speeded up the corruption of our state and federal legislatures by big money.

But, after passing the Turing test, robots will be at least as witty, funny and charming as bright people. Yet a robot will be in constant communication with others (data bases, robots, humans and corporations). Thus a robot will be very like a compact corporation. And, in fact it will be the spawn of corporations.

It is easy for me to say that a corporation is not a person, and therefore should not be allowed to vote or spend gobs of money on politicians. However it is hard for me to argue that the bright, funny robot drinking oil at the bar should not be allowed to vote or spend as he chooses on politicians.

Yet, if they are allowed to vote, they will almost certainly vote so as to put themselves in charge. That will very soon result in a political system as heavily slanted toward robots as our current system is slanted toward the very rich. I expect that most humans will be allowed to starve from lack of employment.