Would it be murder to destroy a thinking machine?

Question:I asked this question nine months ago, but I thought I'd ask it again. What do you think? Would it be murder to destroy such a machine? If it becomes possible to download a human mind into a computer, would it be murder to destroy the machine in that case? If it were possible to download your mind into a robot body, would you do it? Thoughts?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I asked this question nine months ago, but I thought I'd ask it again. What do you think? Would it be murder to destroy such a machine? If it becomes possible to download a human mind into a computer, would it be murder to destroy the machine in that case? If it were possible to download your mind into a robot body, would you do it? Thoughts?

I wouldnt download my mind into a robot body, because thats not true to who i am.

if it ever was possible to download yr mind into a robot/ machine, then yes, it would be murder, in a sense. in that u would be killing elements of a human. would the body die shorftly after downloading the mind to a robot or will it b kept alive?

no it is'nt!!!!!!!!!
murder is killer,not destroyer!!!!!!!

umm.......no
its just like downloading a software and deleting it

Interesting, 4 minutes and not a religious fanatic answer. I would say no on their part, because even though you would be downloading your memories and thought process, you would not be downloading your 'soul' or 'spirit' in a sense. All of the thoughts and statements coming from the computer would be calculations that it makes based on past experiences and decisions. So like a developing AI, it would essentially be starting from having all of your beliefs and experiences and making it's decisions on those. Just because it has the logic to make decisions doesn't make it a live being.

good question, the ones where technology has a jump over written law, it all comes down to ethics, doesn't it?
If i could download my mind to a storage device and still be able to use it I would certainly consider it for the following reason: i suffer from a degenerative neurologival disorder (ok, I'll call it what it is, a brain tumor) and as it gets worse I've noticed that my mind just isn't what it used to be. modern medicine has no cure for this disease, the best they can do for me is buy me some more time. (I'm already over the average survival time and considered a long-term survivor - some people live up to 30 years with such a tumor, most die within 5-7 years).
So, yeah, if it was possible i would probably do it. but I don't think something like this will ever be possible. Artificial intellegence yes, but mind downloads no.

are you asking this because A.I is on tv at the moment? lol

If "thinking machines" ever come close to having "terminator" thoughts, it would be "murder by ommision" not to destroy them. The ommission would be to fail to protect other human life when you had the chance.

But it is just programming, even if it ever could think for itself. It was created. And so was the body in which it is housed. Is it murder to kill the "body" of a toaster or coffee pot?