Scott Adams thinks we need to start preparing a Robot Constitution that spells out a robot’s rights and responsibilities. Some questions such a document should address:

1. Who has the right to modify a robot?
2. Can a robot appeal a human decision to decommission it?
3. Can a robot kill a human in self-defense?
4. Can a robot kill another robot for cause?
5. Does a robot have a right to an Internet connection?
6. Is the robot, its owner, or the manufacturer responsible for crimes the robot commits?
7. Is there any sort of human knowledge robots are not allowed to access?
8. Can robots have sex with humans? What are the parameters?
9. Can the state forcibly decommission a robot?
10. Can the state force a robot to reveal its owners’ secrets?
11. Can robots organize with other robots?
12. Are robot-to-robot communications privileged?
13. Are owner-to-robot communications privileged?
14. Must robots be found guilty of crimes beyond “reasonable doubt” or is a finding of “probably guilty” good enough to force them to be reprogrammed?
15. Who owns a robot’s memory, including its backups in the cloud?
16. How vigorously can a robot defend itself against an attack by humans?
17. Does a robot have a right to quality of life?
18. Who has the right to alter a robot’s programming or memory?
19. Can a robot own assets?
20. If a robot detects another robot acting unethically, is it required to report it?
21. Can a robot testify against a human?
22. If your government decides to spy on you, can it get a court order to access your robot’s audio and video feed?
23. Do robots need a legal right to “take the fifth” and not give any private information about their owners?