Ah yes, you are absolutely right. They're tools.

We use non-learning robots with pre-programed functions while the instatute uses learning robots that have learned right from wrong and to fight for what they believe in like Palidan Dance from the BoS and Diana from the Railroad is it right to use them as slaves?

Except that they are demonstrably not. Examples would be spoilers but there are synth individuals in the game who are clearly persons.

Another thing I forgot to note was that not all great civilizations were built on slaves. in fact, hardly many nations were built upon slaves

Machinery designed to mimic humans. Not humans.

I didn't say humans, I said persons.

Not persons either. Still toasters no matter how good that toasters programming is.

Please explain why not? It's made crystal clear in-game that they are absolutely indistinguishable from humans. So what's your quibble that says two indistinguishable individuals deserve different degrees of consideration? Just straight up speciesism?

That's like saying someone holds a gun to your head and says you have a choice, either agree to work for them for no pay with a small chance of being free later or they blow your brains out. Sure, you technically have a choice, but when when your options are be a slave with a chance at freedom someday, or die, there's not really a choice to be made.

formal definition of person = a human being regarded as an individual

You're still wrong. And keep in mind that that definition was provided by the oxford dictionaries.

Pretty much this, we gat paid for the privilege to work for some rich SOB's who's kids turn out worse then the parents most of the time. Not saying the ones that started with nothing don't deserve it but you know what I mean...

Toasters personalities are programs. They're fake. They can look human, talk human and behave human but that doesn't make them human. Or a person. I don't draw a difference between humans and persons. A person is a human and a human a person. If its not human its not a person.

Whining about those who have?

Someone's got to comrade

OK, so you are just playing semantic games. What you have listed is a definition of "person". I would suggest that you investigate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Person.

Even today's simple artificial neural networks aren't hard coded, they are taught through repetition. Or rather, the design of the network is coded, but the pathways between nodes are created through a learning process.

This is a pretty cool article:

http://www.popsci.com/these-are-what-google-artificial-intelligences-dreams-look

But we are talking about fictional SCIENCE! anyway. So really, whether Synths are sentient or sapient is either for the writers to confirm or left up to the player to make up their own minds.

At this point, anything that can be done by slaves can be done better by Protectrons and Mr. Handy variants. Or, depending on how one sees them, G1 and G2 Synths.

Well, if you're a flat out supremacist then I guess your mind is made up. Personally I think the question of personhood is much more subtle than that.

If http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/07/30/427864373/new-york-court-chimps-are-still-property-not-people are not considered people, then toasters are not either. And in my mind an animal has a much greater right toward consideration of being a "person" than my microwave.

I would suggest you stick to long established definitions of the terms you use.

A person is a human being. And using its plural form (which is usually for legal matters) still ttranslates to human beings and nothing else.

All Civilisations which used slaves have gone. Peace and Freedom is the way for Great Civilisations. But i must admit - We are all slaves of Money. ^^

money is good.

There is currently a movement to have the other great apes legally recognized as persons, so it's not exactly a non-issue. And let's remember that It's not that long ago that certain variations of human being were not legally recognized as persons either, didn't make it right.

I get the strong impression that many people here have never read any Asimov.

Perhaps there is such a moronic movement.

Tell me, how large is this movement? Ya know, there is a movement that 9/11 never happened

Not a fan of either slavery or the Institute myself, but I realized that, basically, my settlers are my slaves. I use them for labor exclusively, don't pay them and keep them in deplorable conditions when compared to my friends (read companions) that I house at the same location.

I'm a terrible person. On the plus side, at least I put bathrooms and bathing facilities about. No poor hygiene on my watch, slaves.

Also: Why am I dressing all my male workers in sequined dresses and all my females in raider armor?