The combination of watching Doctor Who DVDs and working on a sci-fi story has got me thinking about a hypothetical moral dilemma. On other boards, there've been debates about engineering sentient beings that would be happy to serve and whether or not this is ethically sound. The general consensus is usually that it isn't right.
This debate, however, is a bit different.
Let's say that such an engineered sentient being has already been created. Outwardly humanoid so they're physically capable of anything a human is, but their brains have been altered in such a way so as to make them incapable of any individuality or emotion. Their only purpose and pleasure in life is to serve you.
Society is quite comfortable with this situation and anyone who finds it objectionable has been drowned out by the majority. But then you, brilliant Homo sapien that you are, discover a way to trigger individuality and emotions in the engineered beings.
You can only do it one at a time and would need access to each one in order to do it; there will be no massive revolution. The "awakened" engineered beings will be completely aware of their plight and their current inability to find freedom for their race. They will go from taking their only pleasure in life from serving humans to being miserable. What they might do when they start reacting emotionally to that situation is unknown.
So. Is it ethical to start the process?