Philosopher Discusses Hit Movie "A.I."

Philosopher Discusses Hit Movie "A.I."

The movie "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" follows a long line of science fiction films like "Blade Runner" and "Terminator" that feature robots with the same mental attributes as humans. So, can a computer have a mind? What makes a person, a person?

"We [philosophers] ask these questions simply because we are intellectually curious," says UAB philosopher Mary Litch, Ph.D., who studies the philosophy of artificial intelligence and is writing a book about what films have to say about various philosophical debates. "But questions about personhood actually have real-world implications. Take, for example, the abortion debate. Whether you believe a fetus is a person or not will influence your moral stance on abortion. So there are clear implications of deciding what it means to be a person."

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