The really interesting point here is

“I guess what makes Milo different is that unlike a character in a tv show, he builds a relationship with you specifically ”

That is a MAJOR change.

You might argue that such characters aren’t designed to build a relationship with viewers, but if that’s true, why do sequels and spin-offs get made? Why do people get upset when their favourite character gets killed off or written out? I guess what makes Milo different is that unlike a character in a tv show, he builds a relationship with you specifically – while the guy on tv grows on the audience over time.

Milo is currently nothing more than a tech demo; there’s not even a clear indication of what kind of entertainment a Milo-like system would be part of. I mean, it’s nice that they want him to be able to discuss global news or your favourite games, but I can do that with any number of human beings for free.

Milo is potentially the first step in something very big, but I don’t believe that we need to concern ourselves with the ethics of his existence yet or any time soon.

he might be such a good illusion that resetting him could traumatize a child.

Well, that’s exactly my point. We know that video games are an extremely powerful medium. The whole WoW Detox thing is proof of that.

I’m not saying that Milo is sentient, and therefore we need to think twice before turning him off. I’m saying that he may seem so close to sentient that we may have diffculty turning him off. That’s a very powerful media device that needs thinking about, carefully.

I would say that we haven’t hit the ethical milestone yet. The rat is semi-sentient, and Milo isn’t sentient at all. Resetting his is no more wrong than this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeyEXt7-0jU

Any feelings we currently assign to him are solely the result of anthropomorphization. As for his impact on humans… well, we might feel bad turning Milo off, and I’m sure his creators are very attached to him, but resseting him is likely part of his nature, perhaps even essential to his proper operation. Turning him off is as natural as turning off a lamp. Video games excel at using human evolutionary traits to assign emotion to non-sentient objects, but I don’t think we’ve found an ethical conundrum yet.

That said, we are a lot closer to needing an answer to the questions you ask than we were a year ago. Milo isn’t intelligent or aware… but one day he may be. If not, he might be such a good illusion that resetting him could traumatize a child. Just the fact that we’re considering all this would seem to indicate progress, but also the need to educate ourselves and our children accurately about the nature (and level of development) of electronic avatars.

…you know, to avoid this: http://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF039-Dinosaur_Sheriff.jpg