Welcome to the midterm examination in "Law and the Machine Culture". The goal of this exam is encourage analysis of a problem or question using all the major theoretical and conceptual tools that we have considered. Success will be measured on the following dimensions:
1. How many concepts and theories from readings and class are used.
2. How artfully the theories are used to answer the question.
3. How well the prose is written.
4. How clearly the arguments are made.
5. How many videos and films are referenced.
6. How many cases and or statutes are referenced.
Space visitors have finally arrived from Trafalmador, a planet in a distant galaxy . They have analyzed life on earth finding it very primitive. They note that almost everywhere they look humanity seems in symbiosis with machines. They decide that human beings might do very well as low level workers on their planet. They see no difference between man and machine and suggest that the earth is a giant cyborg. They want to know how you define a human being and how you distinguish humanity from machines. They want to know what rights human beings have, where they come from, and at what point human beings lose their rights. They note that humanity terminates pregnancies at will, terminates human life at a certain point of biological disfunction, terminates rights at the point of biological demise, engages in intra-species killing in engagements called "wars", tolerates slavery and denial of rights in certain circumstances. They also are concerned that increasing control of production, economic, and technological processes by computers and software programs is stressing humanity psychologically, economically, and physically. They believe that they are doing humanity a favor by offering employment on their resort planets in the Andromeda Galaxy at more than minimum galactic wages.
You are charged with describing to the Adromedonians from Trafalmador what the differences are among humans, cyborgs, and machines and what rights human beings have, their origin, what rights cyborgs have and at what point they would not be entitled to rights. They are also curious, since they cannot distinguish between cyborgs and machines, why machines that seem sentient do not have rights.
Finally, they want to know what humanity could do to explain why certain creatures on the planet have rights and privileges and others are hunted and eaten..