Artificial Persons

In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protects political speech rights for corporations as well as individuals. This ruling further erodes the distinction between artificial and natural persons.

Artificial persons (corporations, unions, etc.) are generally non-human entities composed of humans. They can, however, transcend the individuals making up the entity. At some point, they may lose all semblance of human composition. 

So, it looks to me like precedents are being set, preparing the way for other non-humans to be given the rights and responsibilities of human persons. Think dolphins, gorillas, AI...