week 10 assignment.

Date: 5^th June 2010, online news article.

Reference: Salleh, A 2010, Cyborgs rights ‘need debating now’, ABC news, 1-10-2010

Relevance: Update: Yes. Support: Provide new information: Yes – as the article was published on the ABC news website on the 5^th June, 2010, making it very new information and increasing its relevance to the unit.
This article is completely relevant to our unit, as it discusses what rights cyborgs have that differ to humans. It deals with the fact that cyborgisation is happening faster then people have realised, and that society hasn’t been reflecting on the impacts its likely to have. Immediately the relevance is evident as this article links back to Donna Haraways The Cyborg Manifesto, especially where she states that ‘the gap between machine and human begins to close – we are both connected’ and links back to when we viewed Bicentennial Man where the robot wanted all the same rights as humans did. This is strongly reflected in the article when Oscar Pistorius, Paralympics champion, aims to compete with able-bodied athletes in the Olympics and Commonwealth games – however authorities challenge him by arguing that his prosthetics gives him an unfair advantage. This brings forth the issue that we have also studied throughout the unit, which is the question of human rights, and whether cyborgs should have a different set of rights due to their prostheses. The cyborgs are seeking to protect their existing rights, which in turn challenges the ethics of the situation that is ever growing. Dr Clarke states that ‘engineers and others who develop these new technologies have an obligation to brief political, social and economic institutions on their implications’, which alludes to idea that the gap between machines and humans is closing, which is why action needs to be taken today to establish how these cyborgs are going to exist within society.

Particular key words that are useful:
I thought when Dr Clarke stated at the beginning of the article, ‘The first generation of cyborgs is alive, well, walking among us and even running,’ that this grounded the argument by emphasizing that this is happening today, right now, and not in the near future. This immediately grabbed my attention and focused me in to the information following. This is an extremely effective placement of quotes, as it shows the reader that this is something that is affecting society at this very moment, which is all the more reason why we should be aware and informed, so we can establish our own opinions. The term ‘walking among us’ within the quote is also very powerful, as it will potentially make readers aware of the cyborgs around them outside of the article, hopefully allowing the people within society to have a say on the rights of cyborgs, not just the experts.

Issues (points you agree or disagree with and why):
This is an extremely political and ethical article, dealing with issues that affect, and will continue to affect society ever increasingly. I strongly agree with the article where it argues that rights have to be established for the cyborgs; not in the sense of creating a different set of rights in comparison to humans, but as in establishing fair rights so we don’t continue to have these debates on these issues. I believe that the gap between cyborgs and humans will continue to decrease, and in effect, they should be able to keep their existing human rights – however, I am inflicted, as I also understand the reasoning of those who argue that the cyborgs have an advantage over some when it comes to elite athletes games and competitions, which makes me unable to agree completely with one side. All I know, which the article emphasises, is that cyborgs are alive and well today, and that their rights have to be asserted, not ignored.

Where and how you would use this in your argument: method example and support: Yes.
I would definitely use this article as evidence of a case study to emphasise how cyborgs and their rights need to be established and the ways in which this is having an affect upon society. I would also use this article to demonstrate how it relates to Donna Haraways The Cyborg Manifesto, in the sense that it illustrates how the gap between machines and humans are closing, and how many people were aware of how common cyborgs are (e.g. the article mentions people even with pacemakers). I believe that because it’s a valid information source (ABC) and mentions important social institutions, such as the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and the International Association of Athletics Federations, that readers will see the extent in which this issue is affecting such large names, which further credits this article, and I would even use this information in my argument to emphasise the degree to which this is affecting society.

Relationship to other references: Support and Example: Yes.
Although this article doesn’t provide an example of an argument in another reference, it does in fact support Dr Clarke, an expert in social impacts of information technologies, views completely, making it very relevant and important to listen to his views, as this is his profession.

Critical Evaluation:
1. Character: Reliable, Secondary Source.
Source title: Cyborgs rights ‘need debating now’
Type: article
Online: Yes
Edition/Revision: No
Bibliography: No evidence
Writing Style: Scholarly
2. Currency:
Date: 5/6/2010
Current: Yes
Location: Online current links
Links: Yes current online links.
3. Intention: To bring awareness to the issue of cyborgs rights within society
Author: Anna Salleh, for ABC science Online.
Audience: The Educated
Source: ABC news
Audience: The Educated
4. Authority
Author: Anna Salleh
Credentials: Science reporter from the ABC Network
Institution: ABC Network
Expertise: Science
Address: Anna Salleh
Cited by: ABC news

Publisher/Source: ABC Network
Reliable: YES
Credentials: One of the largest independent news broadcasting networks
Institution: Independent ABC network
Expertise: National, local and Global issues

Notes:
The ABC network is a large independent news corporation, which has been recognized for its news reports on important and relative stories. The reports are always supported by people of an important educational or political profession, which therefore credits the network further. This is evident within the article that I have chosen. However, there is a biased throughout this article, as Dr Clarke is the only professional given a voice within the story, therefore limiting the range of opinion to simply his. The article would of benefited by having a different view on the idea of cyborgs rights, so that the audiences are better able to make a fair judgment on the matter.