The rise of the machines

Interesting article from CNN about one day robots being smart and independent enough to demand civil rights for themselves, and the consequences of such an occurrence:

Robots might one day be smart enough to demand emancipation from their human owners, raising the prospects they'll have to be treated as citizens, according to a speculative paper released by the British government.

Among the warnings: a "monumental shift" could occur if robots were developed to the point where they could reproduce, improve or think for themselves.

"Correctly managed, there is a very real possibility for increased labor output and greater intelligence to be provided by robots that will ultimatly lead to greater human prosperity and an improvement of the human condition," it said.

However, it warned that robots could sue for their rights if these were denied to them.

Should they prove successful, the paper said, "states will be obligated to provide full social benefits to them including income support, housing and possibly robo-healthcare to fix the machines over time."

I just have one request. Could gays' civil rights be recognized before we give them to machines, or at least at the same time? At the rate we're going, they might see them before we do.

I wonder if robots can be gay... Would gay robots earn their civil rights before human gays?