Societies with Alternative Structures for More Personhood?

*There might be some parts near the bottom that aren’t 100% clear. I’m working on a project with NDA-lite until the details are locked-in/approved. That might not need a disclaimer, but this is my first post here, so there it is.*

What does it look like when a society looks at personhood differently? For example, if on earth Elephants, Dolphins, Orangutang, Chimpanzee, and Gorillas were considered to have personhood (ignore the details of animals included and left out, it was a lightly researched list to use as a reference)? Despite the large differences in abilities/intelligence the concept that these other animal species are are less “People” doesn’t exist.

I’m not concerned with the specifics of the situation, *only that the alternate structure results in an increase in true personhood (it’s not an exploitation: no one wants an increased workforce, it’s not economics, it’s not a trick, the other species are not crippled with responsibilities).* Some other *alternate structures* might be empathy based or socially based. You use a complex tool, you’re a person.

Conservation as an approach seems like a possible direction, but it feels an obvious choice. How might the other entities with personhood exist in society as persons. I think that some sort of hybrid between conservation and some version of limited program to encourage growth. No weird science stuff, but moves to improve habitats in in ways that promote evolution and improvement. Better plants for their health, medical help as possible with limited contact....

And that is where what I want starts to fall apart. It starts to feel exploitative. If they exist with personhood, what is the move to change them? Maybe a closer to Conservation approach, with the exception an extreme effort to communicate. How much do we protect these new persons vs. respect free will? This is where I feel it falls apart again with the comparison to people. I can’t figure out a lot of workable approaches that don’t seem exploitative.

I’m fortunate that the problem I am working on is in fantasy, and the potential Alternative Structure is for a culture/creature(s) that is essentially sustainable without cost and with minimal effort. Like if you gave domestic cats “personhood,” but the cats don’t need food or shelter and they are of the most friendly and social dispositions. I think the limit of “cost” and the “cat-like independence” makes it easier to work out, but I feel like there are angles that I am missing.

What am I missing? What other *positive* alternate structures for *more* personhood exist? I’m exploring some potential ones in science fiction, but I am sure there are areas of thought I am unfamiliar with.

Apologies for the focus (perhaps over-focus) on positive and non-exploitative possibilities. I can see the potential for this to drift towards potential negative outcomes. I’m looking towards models with potential for success.