This is one that has come up and been eating away at my mind ever since I started a project [That I can't give too many details on], we're developing a new type of AI that actually thinks.. It originally started as a project where the computer learns whatever language you speak and can speak back naturally (Language acquisition in humans is an extremely fascinating topic for research), but it blossomed into much more when we decided to begin to develop it into a much larger platform, what is now the current scope of the project. The ethical dilemma is one that makes some scoff and some others think that we have large egos, but this tugs at us night and day; exactly where is the line drawn between artificial life and true life? We are not simply building a reactionary mechanism as seen in games today, but actual minds, we're more or less reverse-engineering the human brain; not coding what it thinks, but rather /why/ it thinks that way.. It is in an environment where there will be many interacting, and we are actually worried about some things... Where the line is drawn of what is what.. Where we actually have to decide what consciousness is and risk bestowing it to our own creations. Most would think that a fabulous accomplishment, but those creatures can and will die; if not by their own doing, what happens during a power blackout where the computer system is shut off? Where is it decided what true life is? When you feel pain, it's just an electrical impulse and your brain saying 'bad'.. It is the exact same with them.... I'm probably rambling by now, but I'm sure you get the idea.. I just hope someone gets to read this since it is so far down in the comments, I'd gladly continue a conversation in this thread or in E-Mail