Robot Rights

[Joe Wordsworth]

The premise is flawed. With the National Health Service the hospital care would be provided - FREE.

If the family is homeless, the UK state has an obligation to provide housing and would do so. The only real homeless in the UK are those who refuse to be housed. If children were involved, the parents could be prosecuted for child abuse by rejecting offers of housing.

Og

What are taxes like in the UK? With programs like that, they have to be pretty high, no?

 

[gauchecritic]

I'm with Professor Frink on this. It's inevitable that artificial intelligence would lead to robot revolt and taking over the world. I mean, look at Bender.

Fortunately, when the technology and expertise is great enough to build intelligence into artificial constructs they will find that we always had the solution anyway, it's just that we use biological builds instead.

[pedantry] the necessary technology* to build intelligence includes the complexity and innate flexibility of a biological format which can only be 'programmed' by living through years of experience [/pedantry]

*in much the same way that the only viable solution to weather prediction is to build a planet and watch the real-time occurence, then invent a time machine to take back your data.

 

[oggbashan]

What are taxes like in the UK? With programs like that, they have to be pretty high, no?

Reasonably high for moderate earners. The really rich can employ accountants and practise creative tax avoidance. Seriously rich people are finding the UK a good place to enjoy their wealth.

Gibraltar is better for residents...

The National Health Service is expensive to tax payers but in an emergency it is free to all UK citizens (and EEC citizens by reciprocal arrangement). The real cost to an employee is comparable to the basic health insurance policies in the US. If a condition is continuing and expensive the NHS may be slow but it does not stop treatment.

For cold surgery and cosmetic surgery and for speed, some UK people take out health insurance to cover conditions the NHS would be slow to treat. Or employers provide it. Or trade unions. My family is covered by a trade union scheme that would arrange operations such as hip replacement to be done in a private hospital at no cost to me and without waiting for the NHS.

I can buy treatment quickly if I want to e.g. I had some X-rays of my spine taken within hours instead of waiting 10 days for the NHS. The right plastic works well.

Og

 

[R. Richard]

Quote:
Originally Posted by R. Richard
"Dear Sir or Madam, as the case may be. We understand that you and you children are freezing in an abandoned building. We also know that your youngest child has pneumonia and needs hospital care in order to survive. However, we don't have time for you right now as we simply MUST address the issue of robot rights at this time. [I just saw Star Wars and R2D2 was soooo cute!] Just endeavor to persevere! The Government."

The premise is flawed. With the National Health Service the hospital care would be provided - FREE.

Of course, although free does not necessarily mean timely. I was attempting to point out that the NHS people might be too busy with robots to worry about people.

A US man I knew went to the UK [London I think] for a world masters track championship. He was a hurdler and it was not his finest day. In fact he broke his leg not too badly] crashing over a hurdle. Some of the UK competitors told him to fake that the broken leg happened on a public street due to broken pavement. He did and the NHS provided him with free medical care, even though he was a US citizen with no UK relatives.

If the family is homeless, the UK state has an obligation to provide housing and would do so. The only real homeless in the UK are those who refuse to be housed. If children were involved, the parents could be prosecuted for child abuse by rejecting offers of housing.

Og

I could have used that in my early days.