• AI and Law
• AI rights
• Artificial Intelligence
• autonomous systems
• autonomy
• ethics of AI
• legal personhood
• moral agency
• morality
• Normative Agents
• Responsability
• rights

This thesis examines the ethical and legal challenges posed by the rise of autonomous AI. It begins by comparing the development of animal rights with the potential for recognizing AI as moral agents. Despite lacking biological experiences, AI's increasing autonomy in decision-making raises important questions about rights and moral responsibility. The thesis delves into the philosophical foundations of moral agency, proposing that AI could possess a form of minimal moral agency that warrants ethical consideration, especially as AI decisions increasingly impact human lives. In exploring the legal landscape, the thesis identifies significant gaps in existing frameworks that fail to address AI's unique status. It proposes a new legal framework that balances the need to recognize AI's growing influence with the protection of human interests, drawing lessons from the evolution of animal rights and the concept of corporate personhood. This approach offers a nuanced pathway toward the moral and legal recognition of AI.