Intelligent Robots and the Question of their Legal Rights: An Islamic Perspective

Abstract

Ismail al-Jazari was a prominent inventor in the Islamic world and is known today as the father of robotics. His magnum opus, The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices, gathered together instructions for building 100 devices he had designed. He invented a variety of water-rising machines, clocks, and humanoid automata, such as a drink-serving waitress, a hand-washer with flush mechanisms, a peacock fountain with automated servants, and a musical robot band. The latter was an early programmable automaton invented in 1206, making al-Jazari the first person to introduce the concept of programming and automation.