Lets assume there is a robot. Very intelligent and complex one. Created to perfectly imitate human behavior. It has the same thought processes, same emotional reactions and same decision mechanisms. Would that robot supposed to have the same rights as a human? Many of yours answer will be "Even if it gives same reactions, its emotions and thoughts are not actually real." The problem is, how do you decide to put the borderlines of reality.
Emotions
Science has proved that the things we call emotions are just different kind of hormones causes chemical reactions in our brain. When you think about the whole process, it is almost mechanical.
- We collect data through our different senses.
- Brain processes this data in order to relate it to learned experience in the past.
- According to that process, brain makes body produce the required hormones to make body react to that situation as brain learned before.
- Through all this experience it keeps collecting new data, making new reasoning relations to use it in the future.
What Makes Emotions Real
Only difference between human and a perfect humanoid would be humanoids would use digital components instead of chemical. And all these emotions, feelings, thoughts we call real are actually not more real than 1's and 0's. They are all abstract concepts that only means something in our systems called body just like robots.
This awareness is important have a sense of humor and lightness required to see the life as it is. You can call it a chemical robot, animals, dancing and singing monkeys, insignificant dots in the universe. The truth is all these definitions are just some also created data onto your brain through your chemical thought processes and only means something in you. So stop judging the importance of human, life, happiness and be. You have the ultimate importance to yourself. Without you theres no importance at all. Same thing goes with that humanoid also :).