@strangebedfellows said:

The issue of synthetics becoming a slave race has been done via Star Trek TNG with Data. I cannot imagine any possible advantage to having a "race " of synthetics that can become sentient. Hasn't anybody watched the Terminator series in this show? It makes no sense at all to have synthetics used in place of human labour - how do people live without work? It would cripple the countries benefit systems and lead to a major crime wave that would overwhelm law enforcement. Besides which all humans have to do is chuck them under the chin and beat their heads in with a hammer to make their point. They couldn't imprison millions of humans for simply destroying their own property. Also - what sense does it make to save one synthetic and put millions of human lives at risk? I am not sure of the point they are trying to make here. Did a teenager write this because it has all the hallmarks of a teen saving the world vehicle. To add insult to injury the acting is atrocious - particularly with Hester and Niska. The husband is a pathetic figure and the wife should have chucked him out. The child acts like a retard (not her fault of course but irritating none the less) All parents have to do with their idiot children is chuck them under the chin on Friday night and not do it again until Monday morning - they would soon snap out of it. I think this show tries to bring up "big issues" and fails miserably.

Sex.

Very succinct !! The issue here is sentience. Once an android becomes sentient it is no longer a synthetic - it becomes essentially another life form and as they are physically superior to humans the danger is immense - only a cretin would make them sentient. Or a teenager !!!

The other, more relevant question is, how will society react when machines can do ALL or MOST the manual work humans do now?That consideration is VERY relevant because that is the way things are already slowly headed!

As I mentioned previously - without work people rely on the benefits system - the benefits system is already under enormous pressure and could not sustain most of the human workforce claiming cash with no prospect of ever stopping claiming it. Humans would be in danger of starving to death - I think there would be anarchy and civil war if synthetics were used to any great degree as a replacement for humans in the workplace. It makes you wonder if scientists have any idea of the greater implications of what they invent - like the guy who invented plastic for instance - not to mention the weaponry that threatens the world today.

The underlying question being considered in any of these shows dealing with humans owning man-like machines is NOT just whether it is feasible or not. All of these shows examine the 'morality' of enslaving anything machine or non machines. Let's not forget that human history is rife with episodes of wholesale enslavement of whole groups of people. Some might argue that, to varying degrees, human slavery is still going on today! I am not suggesting that we currently enslave our vacuum cleaners or cars, however, the thought that humans could create human-like machines which they would "own" is uncomfortable.