The document discusses how medical software controls terminology to standardize language and increase persuasiveness, acting as a rhetor by choosing terms that privilege certain discourse communities. It also notes how software possesses unique persuasive abilities through automated audience targeting and unavoidable choices in electronic reports, challenging traditional views of rhetoric as requiring a human rhetor conveying a message to an audience.

1. Technology and Persuasion Lessons from Medical Software

2. Controlled Medical Terminology “myocardial infarction” = myocardial infarction “MI” = myocardial infarction “coronary thrombosis” = myocardial infarction “heart attack” = myocardial infarction

3. Controlled Medical Terminology The system literally controls the user’s terminology Choice of terminology is not random Certain discourse communities are privileged The system is more likely to persuade those whose language it recognizes

4. The software system as rhetor The system chooses language that has persuasive effects; in every meaningful sense, it functions as rhetor

5. Persuasion and functionality

6. Persuasion by audience Choices unique to electronic reports Choices unavoidable

7. What’s happening? Destruction of traditional view of rhetoric, in which a person conveys a persuasive message to an audience. Rhetor -> Message -> Audience

8. Unique considerations We can apply persuasive elements of traditional rhetoric to new media Applying same theories doesn’t always lead to the same conclusions