Abdulla Binissa

Professor Collins
English 115
11 December 2015
Multi-Modal Essay

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If youre not first, youre last.
People strive to be the best at things.
Being the top basketball player in the
NBA or being the top reader in class.
This is an evolutionary trait that all
living things have causing plenty of
competition. Throughout all of history,
species have competed to be the very
best and become the top predator on the food chain. Species have come and gone, and currently
it is us humans that hold the title of the top predator. We humans decide what the other living
creatures on the planet do and what is allowed to be done to them. These rules are decided by us
and we call them rights. We give certain living creatures certain rights. However, we give
ourselves the most rights of course. Humans have rights that solely belong humans. We cannot
give a fish the right to drive a car, so we do not do that. Saying this we also do not give machines
rights because machines are property. However a mix between machine and human becomes a
complex ideology. This mixture is called a cyborg. Should this type of species be given rights of
a human, or any rights at all for that matter? After all they are not technically human. Logically
they should not have human rights. Although cyborgs are not human and therefore cannot have
human-rights, they should still be granted certain rights that protect their well-being but also
protect the well-being of other because a balance of power should be present between humans
and cyborgs.
First of all, what is a cyborg? Some people would call a man with his cane a cyborg. As a
cane would be a mechanical/technological addition to his already human body. This is no

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different from a hearing aid to a deaf person or a
walking stick to a blind person. Most people
would say these people are still human.
However, what if humans were to not only to
use technology as an aid? Instead to use
technology as a means of enhancement. As in
night vision goggles or telescopes. Although this
adds a new dimension to cyborgs, people with
these technological enhancements are still
considered human. There is no ethical problem
in which such technological enhancements
cause. It is merely no different to a spider using a web to catch a fly or a chimpanzee employing
a stick with which to extract termites from a mound, which can be seen a vital functioning for
those creatures (Warwick 2003). Since it is common to do this, creatures with enhancements
should not be considered an ethical problem. This includes humans with technological
enhancements. Well if humans with technology that aids them as well as enhances them arent
considered any less human, what is? It is the case in which a persons thoughts are directly
affected by technology. Suppose an internet-chip implanted in ones brain allowing instant search
on the web or a device that regulates mood or a memory-editor system. This is when an
individuals mind merges with a machine. It is then when a persons autonomy is to be
questioned. Whether this person is really a person at all. Whether this person is human or
something else.

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Assuming the definition of a cyborg
is a human with the merge of a
machine through direct involvement of
the individuals consciousness, we can
state that a cyborg is no longer human.
A cyborg is just exactly that a
cyborg. A separate race apart from the
human race or the chimpanzee race or
the ant race. Thus, it is understandable
to not grant them the same rights as we
do to humans. We do not give dogs the
right to drive cars at the age of 18, nor do we give the right for cats to go to public schools.
Saying this, creatures other than humans still have the right to live. Laws set by the government
prohibit certain acts against animals giving them rights to live. Federal laws give most birds the
right to be free. To trap, kill, or possess certain birds is illegal. Saying this, we can apply these
rights to cyborgs. If cyborgs were walking around on the streets today, it certainly would have
basic rights. Basic enough to allow it to be living at least.
But what other rights would they have? Would they have rights similar to a bird, or rights
similar to a human? Assuming these cyborgs do not take over our place as top predator on our
planet, we would have to decide what rights to give them. Firstly, rights to protect them are
necessary. New laws that protect ones personal/private thoughts or memories that are now
accessible by means of technology are to be put into place. Laws like this and other laws need to
protect cyborgs from all threats that do not affect regular humans. After these rights are made,

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rights to protect humans are also to be put in place. These rights would hinder what cyborgs can
legally do, such as vote and go to certain areas for example The White House. The hindrancerights would most likely vary between each type of cyborg. Cyborgs with surveillance
technology may not visit the White House, or Cyborgs with memory alteration are not allowed to
vote in a certain period of time. However these hindrance-rights cannot take away the universal
rights of humans. Such that, Cyborgs are to be treated as humans until a situation arises that
directly identifies them as a cyborg.

Works Cited
Gillet, G. "Cyborgs and Moral Identity." Cyborgs and Moral Identity. NeuroEthics, 2006. Web.
8 Nov. 2015. <http://jme.bmj.com/content/32/2/79.full.pdf+html>.

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Montgomery, Jill. "Animal Welfare and Animal Rights: A War of Words with Casualties
Mounting."Animal Welfare Council. Animal Welfare Council, 2013. Web. 05 Nov. 2015.
< http://animalwelfarecouncil.com/awc-articles/>.
"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UDHR, Declaration of Human Rights, Human
Rights Declaration, Human Rights Charter, The Un and Human Rights." UN News
Center. UN, n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2015. < http://www.un.org/en/universal-declarationhuman-rights/index.html>.
Warwrick, Kevin. "Cyborg Morals, Cyborg Values, Cyborg Ethics." Ethics and Information
Technology(2003): 131-37. Print.
<http://mysite.du.edu/~lavita/dmst_2901_w12/docs/warwick_cyborg_ethics.pdf>.