Spark

Is it OK to torture a robot?

A look at whether we should consider legally protecting robots from abuse in the same way we protect animals.
Photo courtesy Kate Darling

Kate Darling, a research specialist at the MIT media lab, created a robot dinosaur torture workshop as part of her ongoing work on robot ethics. She wanted to determine how people felt about torturing robots. How much of it is about group dynamics? Or a reluctance to destroy expensive technology? And should we treat robots the same way we treat a pet cat?