Shadowing Practice: Cyborg Rights: The Next Human Rights Movement | Meow-Ludo Meow-Meow | TEDxSutherland - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

C2
Reviewer.pereen
⏸ Paused
All Sentences94 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Reviewer.pereen
2
I'm at a train station.
3
I tap my hand to the reader because my Opal card is inside my hand.
4
I hear a sound familiar to Sydney commuters.
5
a low beep, a red light, declined.
6
I tap my hand again, same thing.
7
Now let me explain.
8
A few months earlier, I had the chip from an Opal card implanted under my skin.
9
It's very small, about the size of my thumbnail, and I used it to ride the trains every day.
10
Tapping on, tapping off, paying my fares just like everyone else.
11
But Transport for New South Wales had found my chip in their system and switched it off remotely without telling me.
12
They had, and I love this term, bricked my hand.
13
$30 of credit trapped under my skin forever.
14
All right, you might hear this story and say, well, that's what you'd get for putting a train ticket in your hand.
15
Fair enough.
16
But I couldn't stop thinking about how a government agency had reached inside my body and switched something off off without warning me, without telling me?
17
And that's when a question landed that I haven't been able to shake since.
18
When technology is a part of your body, who actually controls it?
19
Before they bricked it, I'd been fined.
20
I was riding a train, ticket inspectors doing their rounds.
21
I tapped my hand to the device.
22
It said, valid tap-on, credit on the card.
23
The inspector looked at his scanner and looked at my hand and said, wow, that's crazy, and then proceeded to find me twice.
24
One was for writing without a valid ticket.
25
One was for failing to produce a ticket, something you can't do when your ticket's under your skin.
26
The system confirmed I'd paid and punished me anyway.
27
This should have been straightforward.
28
You paid.
29
The machine says you paid.
30
End of story.
31
But it wasn't, because the law had no framework for this.
32
No one had ever been in the position I was in.
33
So I took it to court.
34
And I lost.
35
Appealed and then won, sort of.
36
The judge agreed I'd clearly paid my fare, but I still had to pay $1,000 in court costs.
37
And my lawyer said something that I can't stop thinking about.
38
If Australia had a Bill of Rights, you'd probably have had an instant win.
39
We don't have one.
40
And the Human Rights Commissioner said something really strange.
41
He said that if I died with the chip in my body, transport for New South Wales could theoretically claim my body
42
as their property.
43
A government transport card could give a bureaucracy claim over my corpse.
44
Don't worry, I'm in no hurry to test that one out.
45
Now imagine a world where before any of this had happened someone had asked the question, what What rights do people have over the technology in their body?
46
If that question had been asked in law, in policy, in the design of the system, none of this would have ever happened.
47
The tap would have been valid, the fare would have been paid, and we could have all just gone on with our lives.
48
But that question wasn't asked.
49
Not for me, not for anyone.
50
My lawyer called my case the thin end of the wedge.
51
And he was right.
52
Because while I was dealing with a $30 train ticket, a company called Second Sight was selling people bionic eyes, retinal implants.
53
They gave sight to people that had none.
54
And then the company went bankrupt.
55
And 350 people were left with dead video cameras in their eyes.
56
No support, no repairs, no one to call.
57
The implants are still in their eyes.
58
But the company is gone.
59
Here's the thing.
60
We have language for this.
61
You've heard of the right to repair.
62
The idea that if you buy a tractor or a phone, that you have the right to fix it without asking the manufacturer's permission.
63
And this movement is winning.
64
is passing around the world, and Australia is a part of that conversation.
65
But no one is asking the next question, which is, do we have the right to repair when the thing we want to fix is under our skin?
66
Right to repair doesn't stop at the skin.
67
We need the right to control, maintain and understand the technology inside our body.
68
Not just the technology we own, the technology we are.
69
This isn't about me and my train ticket.
70
It's about the person sitting in this room with a pacemaker.
71
The kid that will get a cochlear implant next year.
72
And eventually, the person with a neural interface.
73
And it gets me thinking what thriving actually means, the theme of the day.
74
Thriving means directed growth.
75
It means flourishing.
76
Flourishing doesn't happen when a company can switch off your hearing because you violated their terms of service.
77
and it doesn't happen when bankruptcy can leave you in the dark, literally.
78
Flourishing happens when your body belongs to you, when the technology inside you serves you, not a shareholder, not a terms of service agreement,
79
and not a bureaucrat at a transport agency.
80
Before you leave this room, decide something.
81
Your body is not a product.
82
It is not a subscription.
83
It is not for sale or to be rented, tracked, or quietly taken away from you.
84
It is yours.
85
And that truth doesn't defend itself.
86
So don't just agree with it.
87
Act on it.
88
Challenge what violates it.
89
Refuse what diminishes it.
90
Support those fighting for it.
91
Build a world where this is non-negotiable.
92
Because this only stays true if we make it true, together, for all of us.
93
Thank you.
94
Thank you.

Download App

AI scoring for every sentence you speak

Scan To Download
Scan To Download
Download on theApp Store
Get it onGoogle Play
TRENDING

Popular

4.9/5 on App Store & Google Play

Shadowing English On Mobile

Learn English anytime, anywhere with the Shadowing English app. Improve your communication skills today!

Track your learning progress
AI grading and error correction
Rich video library
Download on theApp Store
GET IT ONGoogle Play
Shadowing English Mobile App

About This Lesson

In this lesson, learners will engage with a thought-provoking topic surrounding technology and personal rights. By using the transcript from the TEDx talk "Cyborg Rights: The Next Human Rights Movement," students will practice their listening and speaking skills. This content will provide insights into the intersection of technology and law, encouraging discussion and deeper understanding of terminology related to personal rights and technology. As you work through this lesson, you will focus on enhancing your English pronunciation through targeted shadowing exercises, known as shadowspeak.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Implanted - to insert something into the body surgically.
  • Bricked - a term used when a device or chip is rendered useless or disabled.
  • Valid tap-on - an accepted confirmation of payment or access.
  • Framework - a structure that provides guidance or support, often related to legal or organizational systems.
  • Claim over - to assert ownership or authority over something.
  • Human Rights - the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled.
  • Policy - a proposed or adopted principle to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes.

Practice Tips

To effectively improve your English pronunciation while engaging with this material, consider using shadowing techniques. Listen closely to the speaker's tone, rhythm, and pace, as the transcript reflects a conversational style that may include pauses and emphasis. This TEDx talk runs at a moderate speed, making it an excellent choice for shadow speech practice.

Start by playing the video at a normal speed. Repeat the phrases after the speaker, mimicking their intonation and pronunciation. If needed, slow down the playback to clearly hear the nuances of speech. Focusing on challenging phrases—like “who actually controls it”—can be particularly beneficial for mastering complex constructions. Regular practice through a quality shadowing site can aid in this process.

Make sure to speak along with the video several times to internalize the phrases. As you practice, record yourself to track your progress and identify areas for improvement. Engaging with the content in this manner not only enhances your speaking skills but also deepens your understanding of important societal issues related to technology and human rights.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

☕ Buy us a coffee