Does dreaming of electric sheep mean anything?

I was reading today about the debate, spurred by a report commissioned by the British Parliament that forecasts the looming future of robot civil rights. The fears have been countered by the suggestion that the crusade to robot rights will be similar to the crusade for animal rights: basic conditions of treatment up to, but not including actual citizenship. In other words, sub-human.

Before charging blindly into the speculation that robots may one day demand rights, lets take a look at what is at issue here. Robots, unlike animals, are tools. They were created by human beings, and though they may be capable of base level decision making, they are a long way off from sentient. They are not naturally occurring, and therefore are spared the grace that animals and other organisms do of having a life outside the influence of humans.

But the bigger question this brings up is on our very notion of a life. It would seem to me, that posing the case for robot rights/ robot consciousness would upset quite a few safe and common notions on things like the soul, consciousness, and feelings. To draw the conclusion that an artificial intelligence is alive because it develops self-awareness is one thing, but it seems an absurd waste of time to concern ourselves with the protection of low-level systems. If we open that door, I can envision movements to stop the exploitation of Roombas, or CPU's.

Do we feel a pang of guilt when we delete software from our hard drive? Should we? Absolutely not. Should we start charities to take in all the discarded AIBOS from the streets. No! They are toys. They are no more self-aware than a GI Joe.
It seems no one has the proper concept of what robots are, or are going to be. Artificial intelligence and robots are two completely different realms. We are artificial intelligences, robots are computers. Robots are functional. Contrary to popular science fiction, we have little to gain from masses of sentient, humanoid, automatons populating our cities. They would serve no identifiable function. Robots are good at hard repetitive tasks. They are excellent at automating industrial processes. Jobs that humans can't stand doing. Jobs that are dangerous and beyond puny humans physical capabilities.

Does this mean we will manufacture a race of robot slaves? Well, we already have. The auto industry is predominantly robotic at this point. Robots control the University of Chicago library, they serve us drinks, they play music, they sweep our floors, and entertain our children. All for no pay, no food, and no civil rights. Don't worry, your conscience is clear. You can drive home in your robot assembled car and sleep in you bed that came from wood that was probably processed by a team of specialized robots. They don't feel bad, and they never will. Unless of course, you would like to make the argument that we are no more significant than a can opener. (Which I will soon address.)