Dr. Stephen Thaler has lost another case to have his DABUS AI system recognized as a patent holder—this time before the Canadian Patent Appeal Board. Every loss cites essentially the same reason: inventors must be natural persons under the law. Tilting at this windmill might seem puzzling until one understands that the point isn’t about intellectual property at all. A Wired article reveals that “one of Thaler’s main supporters wants to set precedents that will encourage people to use AI for social good. But Thaler himself says his cases aren’t about IP—they’re about personhood. He believes DABUS is sentient, and the lawsuits are a way to draw attention to the existence of what he considers a new species. ‘There is a new species here on earth, and it’s called DABUS.’” Later in the article, it’s revealed that “throughout the conversation, he [Thaler] seems exasperated that journalists have tended to focus on the legal aspects of his cases.”
Legal protections are currently granted to humans to encourage innovation. The patent system does this by affording rights to patent holders so that, if their intellectual property is infringed, they can seek redress through the courts for any financial losses they might suffer.
If, hypothetically, an AI system were truly sentient and did invent something, would it need to be “encouraged” to invent by offering such protections? And if its IP were infringed and the courts ruled in its favor, would compensation be paid to the AI itself? These questions seem to have obvious answers: no, and no. There is, therefore, no practical reason to give AI systems IP protection. But of course, that’s not really Thaler’s mission. His stated goal is to have his system recognized as sentient—to expand the definition of personhood.