001001 v. Turing?

In Legal Affairs, Benjamin Soskis examines the potential need for a legal regime for intelligent machines: Man and the Machines

At some point in the not-too-distant future, we might actually face a sentient, intelligent machine who demands, or who many come to believe deserves, some form of legal protection. The plausibility of this occurrence is an extremely touchy subject in the artificial intelligence field, particularly since overoptimism and speculation about the future has often embarrassed the movement in the past.