OK, here is part two of the articles based on the show Futurescape with James Woods. Here we look
at if cyborgs can still vote as people during an election. You are asking
why aren't you? We looked at last week to try to figure out if they are
still human, but that is not the end of the solution with the factor of being
an eligible voter. So I’ll go down the list of concerns.
Licensing: Some people with implants, prosthetics or
people who are cyberized may not own the parts that are hooked up to them.
Instead, a prosthetic limb, an implant for a disabled person may be still
owned by the original distributor/manufacture of the company. In short,
the mechanical components are being rented. So can these individuals be
considered eligible if they do not even own the mechanical parts that have
replaced or augmented their original bodies? Also, can't these people
have their votes corrupted by the companies that own these parts do to threats
of reclaiming them, or sticking their families with a hefty bills after they
pass on for the parts themselves.
Hacking: What’s more is that these parts are mechanical and
most likely will be run by computers. As such they can be hacked.
So a clever hacker can make the individual, by force, vote a specific
way. It gets even creepier with those who have brain implants or partial
brain replacement as a hacker can hack into the persons brain itself to control
them to vote a certain way. Lest we also not forget that hackers can in
this instance threaten people to make them commit suicide (really murder) by
controlling them or even a loved one with a cyber-implant/mechanical parts.
This is a very disturbing reality.
Total brain replacement: Just like with the last article,
can a person who no longer has their original brain still vote, for it goes to
question if they are merely acting on a pre-programmed impulse. So, in
the same way we can question if this person is human, we can question why they
are voting in the manner they are.
Conclusion: For licensing, the laws can be
amended where a person has a right to any and all parts of their body, whether
they be a replacement or augmentation. As such any form of threat of
coercion will also be dealt with by the law in the same manner as any blackmail
or similar case. So in the Licensing scenario, they as people should be
allowed to vote. In scenario two with respect to hacking, the individual
is not responsible for the crimes of others. So a hacker taking control
of cyberized person, or threatening another is not grounds for the exclusion
for a person to vote. Instead the hacker must and always be punished in
this case. Finally, scenario three with its total brain replacement.
Here it still comes down to if the individual can be proven to still have
independent thought and personality over just becoming a pre-programmed machine.
Until that is answered, I don't think anyone can be sure if these people
are human, let alone vote. Yes there may be other scenarios where we can
question if these individuals who we can classify as cyborgs are eligible to
vote. But, I will leave that to you my dear readers to ponder.
Enjoy racking and wrapping your brains over this very likely future issue
of the United States and other countries around the world.
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