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If HAL isn't a sentient being then it is a machine that has been programmed to murder under certain circumstances. If HAL is sentient then he did commit murder
by edoo 7y ago
If HAL isn't a sentient being then it is a machine that has been programmed to murder under certain circumstances. If HAL is sentient then he did commit murder. Either way the people who instilled the orders would be culpable under the same rules that would apply if you arranged for someone to be murdered but did not do it yourself.
- ineedasername 7y agoAgreed! In part. Sentience may have... degrees. It does not instill absolute choice/free will in it's recipients. In fact there are rare neurological disorders that may cause someone to move their limbs involuntarily, but that doesn't negate their sentience. If one such pulled the trigger on a gun, is the sentient person a murderer? Let's complicate it a little more: sometimes a similar syndrome makes the person actually believe they are in control: their brain makes up reasons for why they moved a certain way. In that case, their sentient process actually might concur with the "murderer" label, but is would be absolutely wrong! So we come to HAL: it could be fully self aware but have as little choice as a light switch, or at least have such little choice in some circumstances. This is why I think sentience may be a necessary, but not sufficient condition for "murder". The ability to have chosen otherwise is, I believe, also a necessary condition.