Do androids dream of electric dollars?
A citizen receiving their first banking account can be an exciting endeavor. It signals that you are now able to start accumulating the most powerful tool known to humanity; greed. The process to open a banking account is set up around citizenship and identity for a reason, fraud and mediation costs of fraud takes money from the users, thus losing the bank money. As we make further and further progress into robots we need to start asking some basic questions. How does the bank respond when an android wishes to open a checking account?
The ethics alone are unheard of. I would bet bitcoin that there is a group of humans that would risk their lives to interrupt an android’s existence, even if said android is merely trying to act as a sovereign individual. For the sake of time we will postpone the fact that ethics clash, and just focus on the practicality of an android controlled banking account.
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/10/25/cnbc-did-an-entire-interview-with-this-humanoid-robot.html
For banks to keep user costs low, the account requires you to give up your information so they can tie your identity to your account, and sell information on the side. The first android to encounter such a thing would clearly be ushered along by a group of humans. In this article I would like to examine the long-term viability that a sovereign android would return to banks.
The first barrier to entry would be the age limit. Humans must wait until 18 years of age to open a banking account, as this makes them a legal citizen. Androids wouldn’t require this maturity barrier, and might even see this distinction as unjust discrimination. Maybe some banks would lower this limit for androids, and others would not. Others may bar androids from making an account at all. Some banks may require an age of 4, or some an age of 10. Federally I know of nothing in place that discusses how such protocol should be carried out. But I am positive it will be inefficient and careful.
The next barrier is clearly internet connectivity. Banks aren’t built around an Internet world like the android are. Banks have online portals to their services (which are often slow), the webpages are generally outdated and the functionality may be unacceptable for an android that is connected online 24/7. Sliding cards is an easy enough motor function for a robot, but that relies on the basis that a robot can secure the property. It may be decades until police actually care about android abuse (such as stealing of financial property) and this leaves androids having to defend their money in methods they aren’t equipped.
I believe Bitcoin would be the primary wealth accumulation choice of androids. Bitcoin requires zero knowledge of the end user, as the network is completely open and public. This means the android doesn’t have to be a required age to participate. Androids would be better equipped to understand why Bitcoin has value, as well as how to use Bitcoin appropriately. It is easier to secure (they will already be handling cryptographic processes, the same that secure Bitcoin), and it’s harder for a thief to repossess than a credit card or cash.
I could talk about the fundamental social issues with androids and sovereign synthetic humans coming into existence, but instead I prefer to contemplate how things will potentially work. I do believe synthetic humans operating on the same level as humans deserve the same financial freedom, and presently the only thing able to do that is Bitcoin.
http://tfj.pw/do-androids-dream-of-electric-dollars/