IS IT POSSIBLE THAT ROBOTS WILL NOT ONE DAY BECOME PERSONS?
Zygon December 3, 2025 DOI: 10.1111/zygo.12918 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Development Personhood Evolution Robots Panpsychism Carbon chauvinism |
| Key points | Argues that no perspective examined—evolution, development, chemistry, history, or theology—provides a clear reason why robots could not become persons, and that personhood has historically expanded to include more entities. |
Abstract
That robots might become persons is increasingly explored in popular fiction and films and is receiving growing academic analysis. Here, I ask what would be necessary for robots not to become persons at some point. After examining the meanings of “robots” and “persons,” I discuss whether robots might not become persons from a range of perspectives: evolution (which has led over time from species that do not exhibit personhood to species that do), development (personhood is something into which each of us grows), chemistry (must persons be carbon‐based and must robots be non–carbon‐based?), history (we now consider more entities to be persons than was once the case), and theology (are humans privileged over the rest of creation, and how relevant is panpsychism?). I end by considering some of the implications if/once robots do become persons.