Kayvon Tehranian: How NFTs are building the internet of the future | TED

翻译人员: 思辰 李 校对人员: Helen Chang

NFTs are not a scam.

非同质化代币（NFT）不是个骗局。

NFT 不是昙花一现的狂热。

NFTs are not a fad.

In fact, NFTs are the building blocks of the internet of the future.

事实上，NFT 是未来互联网的基石。

But in order for us to see this future clearly,

但为了洞悉它的未来，

we first need to go back into the past.

我们得先回到过去。

The year is 1992.

那还是 1992 年。

The World Wide Web is only three years old.

万维网（WWW）才三岁。

This is what it looks like.

这就是它当时的样子。

For the first time in human history,

纵观整个人类历史，

we share a global commons,

我们（通过万维网） 首次做到了资源全球共享。

where, irrespective of where we are in the physical world,

无论我们的身体栖于何处，

we can convene and share information freely.

我们都可以自由地收集并分享信息。

Most people at that time couldn't see what it meant

当时大多数人不明白 当计算机连上网络意味着什么。

to be connected by a network of computers.

In fact, many people thought the internet itself was a scam or a fad.

其实许多人曾认为互联网是个骗局， 或者只是一时的风潮。

But a few early internet pioneers saw the potential

但一些早期的互联网先驱 看到了这一新兴技术的潜力。

in this burgeoning technology.

One of those early internet pioneers, John Perry Barlow,

其中一位互联网先驱 约翰·佩里·巴洛（John Perry Barlow）

saw both the opportunities and pitfalls inherent in our new digital world.

看到了这个新兴数字世界中 与生俱来的机遇和险阻。

And, of early cyberspace, he posed a prescient riddle

早在 1992 年，他就基于网络空间 提出了一个预见性的谜题。

all the way back in 1992,

that I'll paraphrase for you:

用我自己的话解释一下：

"If our property can be infinitely reproduced

如果我们拥有的东西可以被无限复制，

and instantaneously distributed across the planet without cost,

还能瞬间免费地发送到世界各地，

how are we going to protect it?

我们该如何保护自己的所有物呢？

How are we going to get paid for the work we do with our minds?

我们该如何获取 自己脑力作品的报酬呢？

And if we can't get paid,

如果我们拿不到报酬，

what will assure the continued creation and distribution of such work?”

该拿什么来保障我们今后 稳定地创作和发布任何作品呢？

A lot has changed on the internet since 1992.

自 1992 年以来 互联网发生了很多变化。

The internet itself is an alive and evolving technology.

互联网本身就是鲜活 和不断进化的技术。

And as predicted by its earliest champions,

如同早期的互联网支持者预估的那样：

the internet has increasingly become our default context.

互联网正日益成为 我们生活的必要部分。

Today, one's job, wealth,

如今，一个人的工作、财富、 人际关系、个人身份等

relationships, sense of self,

are all often more mediated through our digital contexts

通常更加依托于数字世界， 多过实体的世界。

than our physical ones.

Yet, Barlow's riddle has remained vexingly unsolved.

然而巴洛（Barlow）的谜题 依旧让人绞尽脑汁。

Concepts like property and ownership --

实体世界中的个人资产和所有权概念 存在好几个世纪了，

ideas that have been with us for centuries in the physical world --

have evaded us in our digital spaces.

如今这些概念也渗入了数字世界。

We’ve tried to foist copyright,

我们试过将版权、

DMCA,

DMCA（数字千年版权法）、

DRM（数字版权管理方案）

DRM and watermarks onto the internet to protect our ideas

和浮水印强加到互联网上，

以保护我们的想法并限制其传播。

and to restrain their distribution.

None of these approaches have worked.

没有一个起过作用。

Why?

为什么？

Because, as Stewart Brand, another early internet pioneer, famously coined:

正如同另一个著名的互联网先驱 斯图尔特·布兰德所说：

information wants to be free.

信息向往自由！

It wants to travel effortlessly, without hindrance, without encumbrance.

它想要毫不费力地周游世界， 没有障碍，没有负担。

This is what allowed the internet to succeed in the first place.

这就是互联网最初成功的原因。

Since 1992, we've uploaded trillions of photos and videos and even cat memes

自 1992 年以来， 数万亿张照片和视频，

甚至是猫咪的表情包

被免费地上传至互联网。

to the internet for free.

And what business model has allowed this information to be free?

请问是什么商业模式 在为这些行为买单？

Advertising.

广告。

Advertising is the internet's default business model,

广告之所以成为 互联网默认的商业模式，

not because that's what we want, but because it's what pays the bills.

不是因为我们想要， 而是因为它支付账单。

Right now, the few large corporations that run the most effective ad networks

如今几个规模最大、 效益最高的广告公司

control most of the value on today's internet,

控制着互联网的大部分价值，

not the people creating its content.

而不是那些真正创造内容的人。

On today's internet, we don't get paid for the work we do with our minds.

在如今的互联网上， 我们的脑力劳动是没有报酬的。

And what's more, the content we upload to these services is trapped there.

甚至我们的内容一上传至服务器 就被 “挟持” 了。

这些服务不仅 从我们的内容中榨取利益，

These services not only make money from our content, they control it.

他们还有控制权。

Until NFTs.

直到 NFT 的出现。

NFTs are a technological breakthrough.

NFT 是一个技术性的突破。

They offer us the opportunity to break away from that broken system.

它给了我们一个机会 来摆脱那个坏掉了的系统。

So you're asking yourself: What is an NFT?

你可能会问：什么是 NFT？

It's a certificate of ownership registered on the blockchain

它是登记在区块链上的所有权证书，

for everyone to see.

这个证书大家有目共睹。

It's not too dissimilar to the deed you get

它和你在实体世界里 买栋房子得到的房契区别不大。

when you buy a house in the physical world.

只不过这份契约证明的 是你对互联网上某个档案的所有权。

But instead of a house, an NFT denotes ownership of a file on the internet.

And unlike copyright or watermarks,

版权或浮水印是根植于 旧时代的老古董，NFT 和它们不同，

which are ancient technologies rooted in bygone eras,

NFTs are internet native.

NFT 是一个纯正的数字原住民。

They are born of the internet for the internet.

它由互联网所生，为互联网而生。

And NFTs don't simply port our existing model of ownership

NFT 并非简单地移植 实体世界的所有权模型，

from the physical world,

they improve it.

而是改进了这个模型。

In the physical world, ownership actually fences people out.

在实体世界里 所有权驱逐着其他人，

It precludes others from enjoying what you own.

阻止其他人享受你有的东西。

I wouldn't expect to feel welcome in your home uninvited.

如果我不请自来的潜入你家， 没人会欢迎我。

Digital space, however, is expansive.

然而数字空间如此地广阔，

It's home to the infinite, the exponential,

数字空间是无限的、指数型增长的、

the instantaneous.

电光石火般快速的。

NFTs offer a system of ownership that reflects this expansiveness.

NFT 提供的独特所有权制度 体现了这种广阔性。

有了 NFT ，就算一件东西归我所有 也不妨碍别人享受它。

With NFTs, my owning something doesn't preclude others from enjoying it.

In fact, it's the opposite.

恰恰相反，

The more an NFT is seen, appreciated and understood,

一个 NFT 越被大家发现、 欣赏，且熟知，

the more possibility it has to increase in value.

它就越容易增值。

Let's take an example:

举个例子：

Nyan Cat, a wildly popular, instantly recognizable cat meme.

彩虹猫，一个辨识度极高的猫咪模因。

Since it was uploaded to the internet a decade ago,

自从 10 年前被上传至互联网，

it has accumulated hundreds of millions of views.

它已经积累了数亿浏览量。

And precisely because of that virality, when it was auctioned as an NFT,

正因为这种病毒式的传播， 当它被作为 NFT 拍卖时，

it sold for 300 ETH, or the equivalent of over 600,000 dollars.

售价是 300 以太币， 相当于 60 多万美元。

And the person who now owns this NFT, they're not preventing anyone from liking,

现在拥有这个NFT的人 也不会阻止大家

对彩虹猫点赞、分享、二次创作。

resharing or remixing Nyan Cat --

Nyan Cat is free to travel the internet

彩虹猫依旧可以自由地在网上漫游，

as it always has.

如同往常一样。

What's different now is that,

不同的是

as Nyan Cat's popularity continues to grow,

在彩虹猫越来越火地同时，

so can the value of the NFT.

它的 NFT 的价格也在上涨。

Because of NFTs, Chris Torres, Nyan Cat's creator,

就因为 NFT，彩虹猫的创作者 克里斯·托雷斯（Chris Torres）

has received direct compensation for his creation.

直接从他的创作中获得了报酬。

But what's more is he'll continue to receive compensation

而且每当这个 NFT 被转售，

every single time the NFT is resold.

他都会继续得到报酬。

This is because of the royalty system baked into the smart contracts

这都得感谢管理 NFT 的智能合同中

that govern NFTs.

包含的版税制度。

NFTs are software; they can be programmed.

NFT 是软件，可以被编译。

And with something as complicated as royalties,

一个像版税一样复杂，

which require enormous amounts of legal and manual labor to implement

需要大量法律和人力 才能在实体世界中实施的制度，

in our analog world,

we can now express them in a few simple lines of code.

现在可以简单地用几行代码表示。

This represents a breakthrough innovation

这代表突破性的创新，

for any industry predicated on royalty payments,

适用于任何依靠版权付费 而生存的行业，

such as publishing or music.

比如出版业或是音乐界。

And just as blogs and MP3s re-architected, these industries in decades past,

正如博客和 MP3 在几十年前 重构了这些行业一样，

NFTs will catalyze their next evolution.

NFT 将催生下一次演变 。

The internet dissolved our geographic boundaries.

互联网消除了我们的地理限制，

NFTs dissolve economic boundaries.

NFT 消除经济的限制。

Yatreda, an Ethiopian artist collective, created these beautiful portraits

雅崔达（Yatreda）是一个 埃塞俄比亚的艺术家团队。

创作了这些埃塞俄比亚历史中 男女英雄的美丽肖像，

of heroes and heroines from Ethiopia's past.

They sold them as NFTs,

把这些肖像作为 NFT 出售。

and in one weekend, they made 13 ETH, or the equivalent of over 40,000 dollars.

一个周末他们就赚了 13 以太币， 相当于 4 万多美元。

And they were paid out instantly.

瞬间支付，

No customs, no foreign exchange, no international wire transfers.

没有海关，无需外汇，无需国际转账。

An artist collective based out of Addis Ababa

一个来自亚的斯亚贝巴 （Āddīs Ābebā）的艺术团队

has the same economic tools at their disposal now

现在支付时使用的的经济手段，

as an artist in LA, New York or London.

和洛杉矶、纽约、 伦敦的艺术家用的一样。

And while the NFTs for Nyan Cat and Yatreda

虽然彩虹猫和雅崔达的 NFT

were created and sold on the same platform,

都在同一个平台上创造和销售，

they're not confined there -- remember: information wants to be free.

但他们远不止局限于此；

记住：信息渴望自由！

And unlike the current internet,

和目前的互联网不同，

where information is made available through proprietary apps and platforms,

在如今的互联网上，信息只能 通过基本的应用和网络平台获取。

NFTs are portable.

NFT 却是可移植的。

Instead of living on a company's private servers,

它们不封存在公司的私有服务器里，

They live on decentralized infrastructure that is peer to peer,

而是存在于公开、透明的， 去中心化的点对点网络中。

open and transparent.

But understanding this complex decentralized infrastructure

当然，你无需理解这个 复杂的去中心化结构

is not a prerequisite to understand what NFTs unlock for the human experience.

来搞明白 NFT 能为人类解锁的无上潜力。

Once digital value and ownership are no longer the sole domain

一旦数字的价值和所有权 不再被少数集团独家掌控，

of a few corporations,

radical new possibilities emerge.

全新的可能就会涌现。

In other words, 30 years later, NFTs finally solved John Perry Barlow's riddle.

换句话说，30 年后的今天，

NFT 终于解开了 约翰·佩里·巴罗的谜题。

And this isn't science fiction; the technology already works.

这可不是科幻小说， NFT 技术已经起了不少作用。

NFTs are already being used

下一代互联网先驱 已经开始使用 NFT 了。

by the next generation of internet pioneers.

And in the coming decade, NFTs will reshape the internet as we know it,

接下来的十年里，

NFT 以及刻印在它代码里的产权 将会重塑我们对互联网所知的一切。

with property rights baked into its code.

So what does the internet of the future look like

一个以 NFT 为构成要素的 未来互联网会是什么样子呢？

with NFTs as its building blocks?

An internet where economic control rests in the hands of creators, not platforms.

它会是一个非由平台， 而是创作者拥有经济控制权的网络。

An internet where our ideas and creativity can be directly supported.

一个使得我们的想法和创意 被直接支持的网络。

An internet where information can be free,

一个信息自由，

but where we get paid for the work we do with our minds.

而我们以自己的头脑换取报酬的网络。

Thank you.

谢谢！

(Applause)

（掌声）