Data and his Rights

Is Data considered to be a robot or a human meaning? The question of the rights when it comes to artificial intelligence is a controversial one. Some may think of Data as a human, while others may see him as a robot. The reasoning behind ones decisions is based on the definition of what a robot or human is and mainly their interaction with it. For example in the episode of Star Trek that we watched in class one can see that the interaction and personal relationships that Captain Picard and Ricker had with Data influenced their thoughts about him. The emotional attachment that was created with Data made him appear to be more like a human and therefore they believed he had the right to refuse the experimentation. The Doctor Lady and the guy that wanted to do the tests on Data did not share the same interaction and personal involvement with him and therefore saw him as a robot. I believe this debate should have been made before they even began to develop robots. They need to have guidelines laid out. If you are going to create a robot that looks, talks, interacts, and almost thinks like a human then they should get the same rights as humans. Even though Data’s memory and ability to think is computer-like it seemed from the episode that he was beginning to think on his own and make decisions as we humans do. At the end he was talking with Ricker and thanked him for what he did and told him that it was because of him he doesn’t have to leave the Star Fleet. Just because Data is a robot and made artificially does that mean that we can treat him like a prisoner and turn him on and off or experiment on him?? For me I think this is obvious and everyone should be treated equally even if he is a robot.