Cyborg rights and other stuff
Cyborg rights. I can see the street protests now. OK I am getting carried away – sort of.
There is an interesting symposium on the social implications of technologies happening at the University of Wollongong, starting today, that I would love to be at, but can’t. And there is a keynote talking about cyborg rights.
The symposium is called Technology and Society: Social implications of emerging technologies.
Keynotes
Scanning the keynote speakers there will be discussions and insight into our advancing genetic knowledge, emerging technologies and implications for privacy. There really is discussion about cyborg rights and a lot on the issue of human enhancement. We aren’t talking the sweaty Angus Thermopyle-type of cyborg (Stephen Donaldson’s Gap Series for anyone into science fiction). This is the existing and near-future prosthetics and implants – including ones for the brain – that can and will likely give us an advantage over the plain-Jane flesh and bone. Who will have access to these technologies and for what purposes?
Other speakers explore the possibility of becoming infected with a computer virus. Based on the technology threatening this possibility, other speakers, including a dude who has one, discuss personalised computer chip or transponder implants placed in your body that allow you to interact with your social living space, for example your mobile phone, computer, car, your white goods, should you feel lonely and want to chat with your fridge.
Anyone there?
I would be interested to hear from anyone who is at the conference or who has access to a speaker paper to let me know some details on the types of dialogue that goes on there.