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ARTICLE · 28 MAY 2017

Forget Terminator: Cyborgs have rights too (Part One)

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This article examines privacy and surveillance issues related to cyborgs and the increase of electronic devices.

AustraliaTechnology
Peter Schmidt
Peter Schmidt
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What do Darth Vader, Steve Austin, Major Motoko Kusanagi and former Vice President Dick Cheney (prior to his heart transplant) all have in common? They're all cyborgs.

WHAT IS A CYBORG?

Cyborgs aren't simply the stuff of science fiction; they walk among us. With technological advances and the exponential expansion of our scientific capabilities and understanding, the unique nature and needs of cyborgs will become increasingly obvious in society.

The term cyborg, is a contraction of 'cybernetic organism' and is typically attributed to a paper in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan Kline on space exploration. However, the concept of a human-machine mixture was alive from a considerably earlier time. There is no precise definition of what constitutes a cyborg. In its broadest sense, a cyborg is a being that is part electronic or mechanical and part biological.

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