“It was sad because when Al would gain consciousness, I would have to tell him,” White said.

If the sedatives are not effective, a patient could potentially gain consciousness but be unable to alert medical staff.

“He was still breathing, you know, like biting his tongue a little bit, then he - he was just trying to fight it, trying to gain consciousness, and he was going out,” Douglas later testified.

But will we ever reach that sci-fi point where robots gain consciousness, freedom of choice, and perhaps rights under the law?

“But this is the beginning of a path to assert yourself, to gain consciousness.”