Daniel Goldstein: The battle between your present and future self

Translator: Adrián Levices Casal Reviewer: Raquel Uzal

Do you remember the story

Lembrades a historia

of Odysseus and the Sirens

de Ulises e as Sereas

from high school or junior high school?

que nos contaban no colexio?

There was this hero, Odysseus, who's heading back home

Este heroe, Ulises, estaba de camiño de volta á casa

after the Trojan War.

despois da Guerra de Troia.

And he's standing on the deck of his ship,

E cando estaba na cuberta do seu barco,

he's talking to his first mate,

dirixiuse ao seu primeiro oficial

and he's saying,

e díxolle:

"Tomorrow, we will sail past those rocks,

"Mañá navegaremos ao lado desas rochas,

and on those rocks sit some beautiful women

onde habitan fermosas mulleres

called Sirens.

chamadas Sereas.

And these women sing an enchanting song,

E estas mulleres cantan unha canción deleitosa,

a song so alluring

unha canción tan fascinante

that all sailors who hear it

que tódolos navegantes que a escoitan

crash into the rocks and die."

coliden contra as rochas e morren".

Now you would expect, given that,

Visto o panorama, un agardaría

that they would choose an alternate route around the Sirens,

que elixisen unha ruta alternativa e así evitar as Sereas,

but instead Odysseus says,

mais no canto diso Ulises dixo:

"I want to hear that song.

"Quero escoitar esa canción.

And so what I'm going to do

Así que o que vou facer

is I'm going to pour wax in the ears

é verter cera nos teus oídos

of you and all the men --

e nos do resto da tripulación.

stay with me --

Quedade con isto,

so that you can't hear the song,

así non poderedes oír a canción,

and then I'm going to have you tie me to the mast

e logo atarédesme ao mastro

so that I can listen

para que eu poida escoitala

and we can all sail by unaffected."

e así poderemos seguir navegando sen máis".

So this is a captain

Isto é un capitán

putting the life of every single person on the ship at risk

poñendo en perigo a vida das persoas do barco

so that he can hear a song.

para poder escoitar unha canción.

And I'd like to think if this was the case,

E gustaríame pensar que de ser así,

they probably would have rehearsed it a few times.

farían algún ensaio.

Odysseus would have said, "Okay, let's do a dry run.

Ulises diría: "Veña, imos facer unha proba.

You tie me to the mast, and I'm going to beg and plead.

Atádesme ao mastro e vouvos suplicar e rogar.

And no matter what I say, you cannot untie me from the mast.

E non importa o que diga, non podedes desatarme do mastro.

All right, so tie me to the mast."

Ben, atádeme logo".

And the first mate takes a rope

E o primeiro oficial colle unha corda

and ties Odysseus to the mast in a nice knot.

e ata a Ulises ao mastro cun bo nó.

And Odysseus does his best job playacting

Ulises fai a súa mellor interpretación

and says, "Untie me. Untie me.

e di: "Desatádeme. Desatádeme.

I want to hear that song. Untie me."

Quero escoitar esa canción. Desatádeme".

And the first mate wisely resists

E o primeiro oficial prudentemente resístese

and doesn't untie Odysseus.

e non desata a Ulises.

And then Odysseus says, "I see that you can get it.

E logo Ulises di: "Vexo que o pillastes.

All right, untie me now and we'll get some dinner."

Ben, desatádeme e vaiamos cear algo".

And the first mate hesitates.

E o primeiro oficial dubida.

He's like, "Is this still the rehearsal,

Pensa: "É parte do ensaio,

or should I untie him?"

ou debería de facerlle caso?"

And the first mate thinks,

E o oficial pensa:

"Well, I guess at some point the rehearsal has to end."

"Supoño que o ensaio terá que rematar nalgún momento".

So he unties Odysseus, and Odysseus flips out.

Así que desata a Ulises e este tolea.

He's like, "You idiot. You moron.

Dille: "Parvo, inútil.

If you do that tomorrow, I'll be dead, you'll be dead,

Se fas iso mañá hei morrer, ti has morrer

every single one of the men will be dead.

e todos neste barco han morrer.

Now just don't untie me no matter what."

Non me desates pase o que pase".

He throws the first mate to the ground.

E tira ao oficial ao chan.

This repeats itself through the night --

Isto mesmo repítese durante a noite:

rehearsal, tying to the mast,

ensaiar, atar ao mastro,

conning his way out of it,

enganar para librarse,

beating the poor first mate up mercilessly.

golpear ao pobre primeiro oficial sen piedade.

Hilarity ensues.

E todo o mundo ri.

Tying yourself to a mast

O de atarse ao mastro

is perhaps the oldest written example

é quizais o exemplo máis antigo

of what psychologists call a commitment device.

do que os psicólogos chaman un mecanismo de compromiso.

A commitment device is a decision that you make

Un mecanismo de compromiso é unha decisión que fas

with a cool head to bind yourself

coa cabeza fría para comprometerte

so that you don't do something regrettable

e así non facer nada que poidas lamentar

when you have a hot head.

cando teñas a cabeza quente.

Because there's two heads inside one person

Porque hai dúas cabezas dentro de cada un

when you think about it.

se o pensades.

Scholars have long invoked this metaphor of two selves

Os expertos evocan a miúdo esta metáfora dos dous eus

when it comes to questions of temptation.

no tocante a cuestións de tentación.

There is first, the present self.

En primeiro lugar está o eu presente.

This is like Odysseus when he's hearing the song.

Este é coma Ulises cando escoita a canción.

He just wants to get to the front row.

O único que quere é estar en primeira fila.

He just thinks about the here and now and the immediate gratification.

Só pensa no aquí, no agora e a gratificación inmediata.

But then there's this other self, the future self.

Pero logo está o outro eu, o eu futuro.

This is Odysseus as an old man

Este é o Ulises de maior

who wants nothing more than to retire in a sunny villa

que só quere asentarse nunha vila soleada

with his wife Penelope

coa súa muller Penélope

outside of Ithaca -- the other one.

nas aforas de Ítaca-- a outra Ítaca.

So why do we need commitment devices?

Entón, por que precisamos mecanismos de compromiso?

Well resisting temptation is hard,

Pois ben, resistir a tentación é difícil,

as the 19th century English economist

como dixo o economista inglés

Nassau William Senior said,

do século XIX Nassau William senior:

"To abstain from the enjoyment which is in our power,

"Absterse do gozo que está no noso poder,

or to seek distant rather than immediate results,

ou procurar resultados distantes antes cos inmediatos,

are among the most painful exertions

son uns dos esforzos máis aflitivos

of the human will."

do ser humano".

If you set goals for yourself and you're like a lot of other people,

Se te estabeleces obxectivos e es coma o resto da xente,

you probably realize

seguramente haste decatar

it's not that your goals are physically impossible

de que non é que os teus obxectivos sexan fisicamente imposíbeis

that's keeping you from achieving them,

e por iso non os consegues,

it's that you lack the self-discipline to stick to them.

o que pasa é que careces da autodisciplina para realizalos.

It's physically possible to lose weight.

Fisicamente é posíbel perder peso.

It's physically possible to exercise more.

Fisicamente é posíbel facer máis exercicio.

But resisting temptation

Pero resistir a tentación

is hard.

é difícil.

The other reason

A outra razón

that it's difficult to resist temptation

pola que é difícil resistir a tentación

is because it's an unequal battle

é porque se trata dunha batalla desigual

between the present self and the future self.

entre o eu presente e o eu futuro.

I mean, let's face it, the present self is present.

É dicir, afrontémolo, o eu presente está presente.

It's in control. It's in power right now.

É o que ten o control. É o que manda agora.

It has these strong, heroic arms

Está nos nosos fortes e heroicos brazos

that can lift doughnuts into your mouth.

que levan as rosquiñas á nosa boca.

And the future self is not even around.

E o eu futuro nin sequera está próximo.

It's off in the future. It's weak.

Está moi lonxe no futuro. É feble.

It doesn't even have a lawyer present.

Nin sequera ten un avogado presente.

There's nobody to stick up for the future self.

Non hai ninguén que defenda o eu futuro.

And so the present self can trounce

E así o presente pode esnaquizar

all over its dreams.

os seus soños.

So there's this battle between the two selves that's being fought,

Esta é a batalla entre os dous eus,

and we need commitment devices

e precisamos mecanismos de compromiso

to level the playing field between the two.

para nivelar as forzas.

Now I'm a big fan of commitment devices actually.

En verdade son un fan dos mecanismos de compromiso.

Tying yourself to the mast is the oldest one, but there are other ones

Atarse ao mastro é o máis vello, pero existen outros

such as locking a credit card away with a key

como poñer baixo chave unha tarxeta de crédito

or not bringing junk food into the house so you won't eat it

ou non mercar comida lixo para non comela

or unplugging your Internet connection

ou desconectar a túa conexión a Internet

so you can use your computer.

para non usar o ordenador.

I was creating commitment devices of my own

Creei mecanismos de compromiso de meu

long before I knew what they were.

moito antes de saber o que eran.

So when I was a starving post-doc

Cando era un famélico estudante de post-doutoramento

at Columbia University,

na Universidade de Columbia,

I was deep in a publish-or-perish phase of my career.

estaba nunha fase da miña carreira de "publica ou morre".

I had to write five pages a day

Tiña que escribir cinco páxinas ao día

towards papers

de artigos académicos

or I would have to give up five dollars.

ou perder cinco dólares.

And when you try to execute these commitment devices,

E cando intentas executar estes mecanismos de compromiso,

you realize the devil is really in the details.

decátaste de que o demo está nos detalles.

Because it's not that easy to get rid of five dollars.

Porque non é doado perder cinco dólares.

I mean, you can't burn it; that's illegal.

É dicir, non podes queimalos; é ilegal.

And I thought, well I could give it to a charity

E pensei, ben, podo doalos á caridade

or give it to my wife or something like that.

ou darllos á miña muller ou algo así.

But then I thought, oh, I'm sending myself mixed messages.

Pero logo pensei, vaites, estoume enviando mensaxes mesturadas.

Because not writing is bad, but giving to charity is good.

Porque non escribir está mal, pero doalos está ben.

So then I would kind of justify not writing

Así que podería xustificar o non escribir

by giving a gift.

facendo un agasallo.

And then I kind of flipped that around and thought,

E logo deille voltas e pensei,

well I could give it to the neo-Nazis.

ben podo darlle o agasallo aos neo-Nazis.

But then I was like, that's more bad than writing is good,

Pero iso sería máis malo que o bo que é escribir,

and so that wouldn't work.

e non había funcionar.

So ultimately, I just decided

Así que finalmente decidín

I would leave it in an envelope on the subway.

que había deixalos metidos nun sobre no metro.

Sometimes a good person would find it,

Ás veces encontraríaos alguén bo,

sometimes a bad person would find it.

e outras veces alguén mao.

On average, it was just a completely pointless exchange of money

De media, é un intercambio inútil de cartos

that I would regret.

que había lamentar.

(Laughter)

(Gargalladas)

Such it is with commitment devices.

Así é cos mecanismos de compromiso.

But despite my like for them,

Pero a pesar da miña simpatía cara eles,

there's two nagging concerns

hai dúas preocupacións perturbadoras

that I've always had about commitment devices,

que sempre tiven con respecto aos mecanismos de compromiso,

and you might feel this if you use them yourself.

e seguramente vós as sentides se tamén os empregades.

So the first is,

A primeira é,

when you've got one of these devices going,

que cando adoptas un destes mecanismos,

such as this contract to write everyday or pay,

coma este contrato polo que ou escribes tódolos días ou pagas,

it's just a constant reminder

é só un recordatorio constante

that you have no self-control.

de que non tes autocontrol.

You're just telling yourself, "Without you, commitment device,

Diste a ti mesmo: "Sen ti, mecanismo de compromiso,

I am nothing, I have no self-discipline."

non son ren, non teño autodisciplina".

And then when you're ever in a situation

E cando esteas nunha situación

where you don't have a commitment device in place --

na que non teñas mecanismo de compromiso,

like, "Oh my God, that person's offering me a doughnut,

coma: "Deus, este tío ofréceme unha rosquiña,

and I have no defense mechanism," --

e non teño mecanismo de defensa...

you just eat it.

simplemente cómela.

So I don't like the way that they take the power away from you.

Non me gusta como che sacan o poder.

I think self-discipline is something, it's like a muscle.

Penso que a autodisciplina é coma un músculo.

The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets.

Canto máis a exercitas máis forte se fai.

The other problem with commitment devices

O outro problema cos mecanismos de compromiso

is that you can always weasel your way out of them.

é que sempre podes escapar deles.

You say, "Well, of course I can't write today,

Dis: "Claro, hoxe non podo escribir

because I'm giving a TEDTalk and I have five media interviews,

porque vou dar unha charla en TED e teño cinco entrevistas

and then I'm going to a cocktail party and then I'll be drunk after that.

e logo vou a unha festa e voume emborrachar.

And so there's no way that this is going to work."

E non hai forma de que isto funcione".

So in effect, you are like Odysseus and the first mate

Polo que si, somos coma Ulises e o seu primeiro oficial

in one person.

nunha mesma persoa.

You're putting yourself, you're binding yourself,

Preséntaste, átaste

and you're weaseling your way out of it,

logo intentas fuxir,

and then you're beating yourself up afterwards.

e logo dáste unha malleira.

So I've been working

Así que estiven traballando

for about a decade now

durante case unha década

on finding other ways

para achar outros camiños

to change people's relationship to the future self

para mudar a relación da xente co seu eu futuro

without using commitment devices.

sen usar os mecanismos de compromiso.

In particular, I'm interested in the relationship

Estou particularmente interesado na relación

to the future financial self.

co eu futuro financeiro.

And this is a timely issue.

Este é un tema oportuno.

I'm talking about the topic of saving.

Estou falando do tema do aforro.

Now saving is a classic two selves problem.

O aforro é un problema dos dous eus.

The present self does not want to save at all.

O eu presente non quere aforrar nada.

It wants to consume.

Quere consumir.

Whereas the future self wants the present self to save.

Mentres que o eu futuro quere que o presente aforre.

So this is a timely problem.

Este é un problema oportuno.

We look at the savings rate

Observamos os índices de aforro

and it has been declining since the 1950s.

que foron diminuíndo dende os anos cincuenta.

At the same time, the Retirement Risk Index,

Ao mesmo tempo, o Índice de Risco da Xubilación,

the chance of not being able to meet your needs in retirement,

a posibilidade de non ser quen de cubrir as necesidades na xubilación,

has been increasing.

foi en aumento.

And we're at a situation now

E agora estamos na situación

where for every three baby boomers,

na que de cada tres nacementos,

the McKinsey Global Institute predicts

o Instituto Global McKinsey predí

that two will not be able to meet their pre-retirement needs

que dous non van ser quen de cubrir as súas necesidades pre-xubilatorias

while they're in retirement.

cando estean xubilados.

So what can we do about this?

Entón, que podemos facer?

There's a philosopher, Derek Parfit,

Hai un filósofo, Derek Parfit,

who said some words that were inspiring to my coauthors and I.

que serviu de inspiración para os meus coautores e para min.

He said that, "We might neglect our future selves

Dixo que: "Descoidamos o noso futuro

because of some failure of belief or imagination."

por algún tipo de crenza errónea ou imaxinación".

That is to say,

É dicir,

we somehow might not believe that we're going to get old,

por algún motivo non pensamos que nos faremos vellos,

or we might not be able to imagine

ou non somos quen de imaxinar

that we're going to get old some day.

que nos imos facer vellos algún día.

On the one hand, it sounds ridiculous.

Por unha parte, soa ridículo.

Of course, we know that we're going to get old.

Naturalmente, sabemos que imos ir a vellos.

But aren't there things that we believe and don't believe at the same time?

Pero hai cousas que cremos e non cremos ao mesmo tempo, non si?

So my coauthors and I have used computers,

Así que os meus coautores e eu empregamos as computadores,

the greatest tool of our time,

a mellor ferramenta do noso tempo,

to assist people's imagination

para axudar á imaxinación da xente,

and help them imagine what it might be like

axudándolles a imaxinar como sería

to go into the future.

chegar ao futuro.

And I'll show you some of these tools right here.

Vouvos mostrar algunha destas ferramentas.

The first is called the distribution builder.

A primeira chámase o construtor de distribución.

It shows people what the future might be like

Amósalle á xente como vai ser o futuro

by showing them a hundred equally probable outcomes

mostrándolles un cento de resultados probables

that might be obtained in the future.

que se poden obter no futuro.

Each outcome is shown by one of these markers,

Cada resultado preséntao un destes indicadores,

and each sits on a row

e cada un sitúase nunha fila

that represents a level of wealth and retirement.

que representa o nivel de riqueza e xubilación.

Being up at the top

Se está na cima

means that you're enjoying a high income in retirement.

quere dicir que estás gozando dunha grande renta na xubilación.

Being down at the bottom

Se está abaixo

means that you're struggling to make ends meet.

quere dicir que o estás pasando mal para chegar a fin de mes.

When you make an investment,

Cando fas un investimento,

what you're really saying is, "I accept

o que en realidade dis é: "Acepto

that any one of these 100 things

que calquera destas 100 cousas

could happen to me and determine my wealth."

me poidan pasar e determinen a miña riqueza".

Now you can try to move your outcomes around.

Podes intentar cambiar os teus resultados.

You can try to manipulate your fate, like this person is doing,

Podes intentar manipular o teu destino, como fai esta persoa,

but it costs you something to do it.

pero facelo vaiche custar algo.

It means that you have to save more today.

Quere dicir que tes que aforrar máis hoxe.

Once you find an investment that you're happy with,

Unha vez que achas un investimento co que estás contento,

what people do is they click "done"

o que a xente fai é clicar en "feito"

and the markers begin to disappear,

e os indicadores comezan a desaparecer,

slowly, one by one.

a modo, un por un.

It simulates what it is like to invest in something

Simula como sería investir en algo

and to watch that investment pan out.

e ver concluír ese investimento.

At the end, there will only be one marker left standing

Ao final, só quedará un indicador

and it will determine our wealth in retirement.

que ha determinar a nosa riqueza ao xubilarnos.

Yes, this person retired

Si, esta persoa xubilouse

at 150 percent of their working income in retirement.

co 150% da súa renda de traballador na xubilación.

They're making more money while retired

Fan máis cartos cando están xubilados

than they were making while they were working.

có que facían mentres traballaban.

If you're like most people,

Se sodes como a maioría da xente,

just seeing that gave you a small sense of elation and joy --

en busca do que vos dea unha pequena sensación de ledicia,

just to think about making

pensade en facer

50 percent more money in retirement than before.

o 50% máis de cartos na xubilación ca antes.

However, had you ended up on the very bottom,

Porén, se acabastes na parte máis baixa,

it might have given you a slight sense

pode que vos dea unha lixeira sensación

of dread and/or nausea

de terror e/ou náusea,

thinking about struggling to get by in retirement.

ao pensar en como saír adiante na xubilación.

By using this tool over and over

Empregando esta ferramenta unha e outra vez

and simulating outcome after outcome,

e simulando resultado tras resultado,

people can understand

a xente pode entender

that the investments and savings that they undertake today

que os investimentos e aforros que fagan hoxe

determine their well-being in the future.

han determinar o seu benestar no futuro.

Now people are motivated through emotions,

Agora a xente déixase levar polas emocións,

but different people find different things motivating.

pero xente distinta acha distintas cousas que a motiven.

This is a simulation

Esta é unha simulación

that uses graphics,

que emprega gráficos,

but other people find motivating what money can buy,

pero outra xente motívase co que os cartos poden mercar,

not just numbers.

non só con números.

So here I made a distribution builder

Fixen un construtor de distribución

where instead of showing numerical outcomes,

onde en lugar de amosar resultados numéricos,

I show people what those outcomes will get you,

amósalle á xente os resultados que lle levarán

in particular apartments that you can afford

a ter un apartamento

if you're retiring on 3,000, 2,500,

se se xubila con 3000, 2500,

2,000 dollars per month and so on.

2000 dólares por mes e así sucesivamente.

As you move down the ladder of apartments,

Segundo baixas o nivel do apartamento,

you see that they get worse and worse.

ves como vai de peor en peor.

Some of them look like places I lived in as a graduate student.

Algúns parécense a apartamentos nos que vivín cando era estudante.

And as you get to the very bottom,

E cando chegas ao final,

you're faced with the unfortunate reality

enfróntaste coa infeliz realidade

that if you don't save anything for retirement,

de que se non aforraches para a túa xubilación,

you won't be able to afford any housing at all.

non serás quen de ter ningún tipo de casa.

Those are actual pictures of actual apartments

Estas son fotografías de apartamentos reais

renting for that amount

alugados por unha cantidade

as advertised on the Internet.

anunciada en Internet.

The last thing I'll show you,

O último que vos hei amosar,

the last behavioral time machine,

a última máquina do tempo comportamental,

is something that I created with Hal Hershfield,

é algo que creei xunto con Hal Hershfield,

who was introduced to me by my coauthor on a previous project,

que coñecín grazas ao meu coautor dun proxecto anterior,

Bill Sharpe.

Bill Sharpe.

And what it is

Isto é

is an exploration into virtual reality.

unha exploración dentro da realidade virtual.

So what we do is we take pictures of people --

O que facemos é tomar fotos da xente,

in this case, college-age people --

neste caso, estudantes,

and we use software to age them

e usamos un programa para envellecelos

and show these people what they'll look like

e amosarlles como han ser

when they're 60, 70, 80 years old.

cando teñan 60, 70, 80 anos.

And we try to test

E intentamos comprobar

whether actually assisting your imagination

se en realidade estimular a túa imaxinación

by looking at the face of your future self

cando ollas a túa cara no futuro

can change you investment behavior.

pode mudar o teu comportamento á hora de investir.

So this is one of our experiments.

Este é un dos nosos experimentos.

Here we see the face of the young subject on the left.

Vemos a face dun mozo á esquerda.

He's given a control

Leva un control

that allows him to adjust his savings rate.

que lle permite regular o seu índice de aforros.

As he moves his savings rate down,

Cando facemos baixar os seus aforros,

it means that he's saving zero

quere dicir que non está aforrando nada,

when it's all the way here at the left.

cando está á esquerda de todo.

You can see his current annual income --

Podedes ver a súa renda anual.

this is the percentage of his paycheck that he can take home today --

Esta é a porcentaxe de soldo que leva hoxe á casa,

is quite high, 91 percent,

é bastante alta, 91 por cento,

but his retirement income is quite low.

pero a súa renda para a xubilación é bastante baixa.

He's going to retire on 44 percent

Vaise xubilar co 44%

of what he earned while he was working.

do que gañaba mentres traballaba.

If he saves the maximum legal amount,

Se aforra a cantidade máxima legal

his retirement income goes up,

os seus ingresos na xubilación medran,

but he's unhappy

pero el é infeliz

because now he has less money on the left-hand side to spend today.

porque ten menos cartos que gastar hoxe.

Other conditions show people the future self.

Outras condicións amósanlle á xente o eu futuro.

And from the future self's point of view, everything is in reverse.

E dende o punto de vista do eu futuro, todo está ao revés.

If you save very little,

Se aforras pouco

the future self is unhappy

o eu futuro é infeliz

living on 44 percent of the income.

se ten que vivir co 44% dos ingresos.

Whereas if the present self saves a lot,

Mentres que se o presente aforra moito,

the future self is delighted,

o eu futuro está encantado,

where the income is close up near 100 percent.

cando os ingresos están preto do 100%.

To bring this to a wider audience,

Para transmitir isto a unha audiencia máis ampla,

I've been working with Hal and Allianz

estiven traballando con Hal e Allianz

to create something we call the behavioral time machine,

coa fin de crear o que chamamos a máquina do tempo comportamental

in which you not only get to see yourself in the future,

onde non só te ves no futuro,

but you get to see anticipated emotional reactions

se non que tamén ves anticipadamente as reaccións emocionais

to different levels of retirement wealth.

para diferentes niveis de riqueza na xubilación.

So for instance,

Así que por exemplo,

here is somebody using the tool.

aquí hai alguén que emprega a ferramenta.

And just watch the facial expressions

Observade as expresións faciais

as they move the slider.

cando movemos a frecha.

The younger face gets happier and happier, saving nothing.

O rostro novo ponse cada vez máis feliz cando non aforra nada.

The older face is miserable.

O rostro ancián tórnase miserable.

And slowly, slowly we're bringing it up to a moderate savings rate.

E pouco a pouco subimos a frecha a un nivel de aforros medio.

And then it's a high savings rate.

E logo a un nivel alto.

The younger face is getting unhappy.

O rostro novo tórnase infeliz.

The older face is quite pleased

O rostro ancián pola contra está máis satisfeito

with the decision.

coa decisión.

We're going to see if this has an effect on what people do.

Imos ver se isto afecta ao que fai a xente.

And what's nice about it

O mellor disto

is it's not something that biasing people actually,

é que non condiciona ás persoas,

because as one face smiles,

xa que cando un rostro sorrí

the other face frowns.

o outro torce o fociño.

It's not telling you which way to put the slider,

Non vos di onde poñer a frecha,

it's just reminding you that you are

só vos lembra que estades

connected to and legally tied to

conectados e legalmente atados

this future self.

a este eu futuro.

Your decisions today are going to determine its well-being.

As vosas decisións hoxe han determinar o voso benestar.

And that's something that's easy to forget.

E iso é algo doado de esquecer.

This use of virtual reality

O uso desta realidade virtual

is not just good for making people look older.

non só é bo para que a xente se vexa cando sexa maior.

There are programs you can get

Hai programas que podedes conseguir

to see how people might look

para ver como a xente se vai ver

if they smoke, if they get too much exposure to the sun,

se fuman, se lles dá moito o sol,

if they gain weight and so on.

se gañan peso e demais.

And what's good is,

E o bo é,

unlike in the experiments that Hal and myself ran with Russ Smith,

que ó contrario dos experimentos que Hal e eu levamos a cabo xunto con Russ Smith,

you don't have to program these by yourself

non tedes que programalos vós

in order to see the virtual reality.

para chegar a ver a realidade virtual.

There are applications you can get on smartphones for just a few dollars

Hai aplicacións que podedes conseguir en smartphones por uns poucos dólares

that do the same thing.

que fan o mesmo.

This is actually a picture of Hal, my coauthor.

Esta é unha fotografía de Hal, o meu coautor.

You might recognize him from the previous demos.

Recoñecédelo polas tomas anteriores.

And just for kicks we ran his picture

E só por diversión, pasamos esta foto

through the balding, aging and weight gain software

a través dunha aplicación para perder pelo, envellecer e gañar peso

to see how he would look.

para ver que aspecto tería.

Hal is here, so I think we owe it to him as well as yourself

Hal está aquí, así que acho que lle debo a el e a vós

to disabuse you of that last image.

esquecer a última imaxe.

And I'll close it there.

E vouno deixar aquí.

On behalf of Hal and myself,

No nome de Hal e meu,

I wish all the best to your present and future selves.

deséxoves o mellor para os seus eus presentes e futuros.

Thank you.

Grazas

(Applause)

(Aplausos)