The Telegraph My details My newsletters Logout Upgrade to Premium My details My newsletters Logout The Telegraph Computers could develop consciousness and may need 'human' rights, says Oxford professor 29 May 2016 • 2:14pm Advances in artificial intelligence could lead to computers and smartphones developing consciousness and they may need to be given ‘human’ rights, an expert has claimed.
 Marcus du Sautoy, who took over from Richard Dawkins as Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University in 2008 said it was now possible to measure consciousness and, in the future, technology could be deemed to be ‘alive.
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’ "If we understand these things are having a level of consciousness are we might well have to introduce rights.
"Marcus du Sautoy Prof du Sautoy, who was speaking about his new book ‘What We Cannot Know’, at The Hay Literary Festival, said artificial intelligence could reach a ‘threshold’ where life ignites.
 “It’s getting to a point where we will might be able to say this thing has a sense of itself and maybe there is a threshold moment where suddenly this consciousness emerges.
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