How technology changes our sense of right and wrong | Juan Enriquez

翻译人员: 校对人员: Jiasi Hao

In an era of extreme polarization,

在两极极度分化的时代，

it's really dangerous to talk about right and wrong.

谈论是非十分危险。

You can be targeted, judged for something you said 10 years ago, 10 months ago,

无论是你在十年前、 十个月前、十小时前，

10 hours ago, 10 seconds ago.

还是十秒前说过的话， 都会被人针对，遭人议论。

And that means that those who think you're wrong

这意味着 那些认为“你是错的”的人

may burn you at the stake

会让你如临炮烙之刑。

or those who are on your side

而那些与你相同阵营

that think you're not sufficiently orthodox

却认为你站队不够彻底的人

may try and cancel you.

会试图将你封杀。

As you're thinking about right and wrong, I want you to consider three ideas.

如果你要思考是与非， 我希望你思考三个点。

What if right and wrong is something that changes over time.

假如是非概念会随着 时间流逝而变化，

What if right and wrong is something that can change because of technology.

假如是非概念会因为 科技进步而变化，

What if technology is moving exponentially?

假如科技会呈指数级发展， 会怎么样？

So as you're thinking about this concept,

当你在思考这个概念时，

remember human sacrifice used to be normal and natural.

别忘了活人献祭 也曾被认为是自然常态，

It was a way of appeasing the gods.

一种绥靖众神的方式。

Otherwise the rain wouldn't come,

否则雨水不至、

the sun wouldn't shine.

太阳无辉。

Public executions.

示众处刑

They were common, normal, legal.

也是常事，合规合法。

You used to take your kids to watch beheadings in the streets of Paris.

曾经的人们还会带着孩子， 在巴黎街头观看斩首处刑。

One of the greatest wrongs, slavery,

其中一项极恶：奴役制。

indentured servitude,

契约奴隶，

that was something that was practiced for millennia.

实施了上千年的制度

It was practiced across the Incas, the Mayas, the Chinese,

曾经奴役着 印加人、玛雅人、中国人，

the Indians in North and South America.

以及南北美洲的印第安人。

And as you're thinking about this,

当你在思考时，

one question is why did something so wrong last for so long?

要问个问题：为何如此恶劣的制度 会延续这么长的时间？

And a second question is: why did it go away?

第二个问题： 它又为什么消失了？

And why did it go away in a few short decades in legal terms?

为什么在短短几十年间 它就不合法了？

Certainly there was a work

这当然少不了那些伟大的、

by extraordinary abolitionists who risked their lives,

奋不顾身的废奴主义者的努力，

but there may be something else happening alongside these brave abolitionists.

但这些勇敢的废奴主义者 也许并不是仅有的原因。

Consider energy and the industrial revolution.

想一想能源与工业革命。

A single barrel of oil contains the energy equivalent

单单一桶油足以储备

五到十人劳动力的能量。

of the work of five to 10 people.

Add that to machines,

配以机械，

and suddenly you've got millions of people's equivalent labor

你就陡然拥有了等同于 数百万人的劳动力，

at your disposal.

任你支配。

You can quit oppressing people and have a doubling in lifespan

你可以不再压迫人民

让人类的寿限在停滞不变了 上千年后出现倍增。

after a flattened lifespan for millennia.

The world economy, which had been flat for millennia,

世界经济水平， 在停滞不变了上千年后

all of a sudden explodes.

也都出现了暴增。

And you get enormous amounts of wealth and food and other things

你可以得到丰厚的财富和粮食等产出，

produced by far fewer hands.

而生产所需的劳动力却大幅减少了。

Technology changes the way we interact with each other in fundamental ways.

科技从根本上 改变了人与人之间的交互方式。

New technologies like the machine gun

新技术如机关枪

completely changed the nature of warfare in World War I.

在第一次世界大战 彻底改变了战争的本质。

It drove people into trenches.

肉体对抗成了战壕对抗。

You were in the British trench, or you were in the German trench.

你要么身在英军战壕， 要么身在德军战壕。

Anything in between was no man's land.

双方战壕间的区域是一片不毛之地。

You entered no man's land.

你若步入其中，

You were shot. You were killed.

就会被枪击，被射杀。

You tried to leave the trench in the other direction.

而你若试图朝另一个方向 逃离战壕，

和你同阵营的人就会向你开枪，

Then your own side would shoot you

because you were a deserter.

因为你是逃兵。

In a weird way, today's machine guns are narrowcast social media.

在某种程度上，窄播特定群体的 社交媒体就是当代的机关枪。

We're shooting at each other.

我们相互射击，

We're shooting at those we think are wrong

向那些认为我们不对的人开枪。

with posts, with tweets, with photographs, with accusations, with comments.

贴文、博客、照片、指控、评论 就是我们的子弹。

And what it's done is it's created these two trenches

这样的后果 就是产生了两道战壕，

where you have to be either in this trench or that trench.

而你必须选择为其一而战。

And there's almost no middle ground to meet each other,

战壕之间几乎没有中立之地，

to try and find some sort of a discussion between right and wrong.

无法展开是非对错的讨论。

As you drive around the United States, you see signs on lawns.

如果你在美国开车， 你会看草坪上立着的标语。

Some say, "Black Lives Matter."

有的写着：“黑人的命也是命”，

Others say, "We support the police."

有的写着：“我们支持警察”。

You very rarely see both signs on the same lawn.

但你鲜少能看见 这两种标语立在一块。

And yet if you ask people,

而如果你直接向人提问，

most people would probably support Black Lives Matter

大部分人应该即会支持 “黑人的命也是命”，

and they would also support their police.

也会支持他们的警察。

So as you think of these polarized times,

所以当你想到这些两极分化的时期，

as you think of right and wrong,

当你想到这些是非对错，

you have to understand that right and wrong changes

你必须明白是与非都会转变，

and is now changing in exponential ways.

而现在这种转变也在呈指数变化。

Take the issue of gay marriage.

拿同性婚姻来说。

In 1996, two-thirds of the US population was against gay marriage.

1996 年，三分之二的美国人 反对同性婚姻。

Today two-thirds is for.

而今天的三分之二表示支持。

It's almost 180-degree shift in the opinion.

近乎于 180 度的态度转变。

In part, this is because of protests,

部分因素， 在于有人抗议，

because people came out of the closet,

在于有人公开出柜，

because of AIDS,

以及艾滋病的出现，

but a great deal of it has to do with social media.

但很大一部分原因 必然和社交媒体有关。

A great deal of it has to do with people out in our homes,

很大一部分原因必然在于

人们可以在自己的家中、卧室里， 通过电视、电影、贴文，

in our living rooms, through television, through film, through posts,

through people being comfortable enough,

通过自己觉得能自在相处的人，

our friends, our neighbors, our family,

通过朋友、邻居、家人

to say, "I'm gay."

来发声：“我是同志”。

And this has shifted opinion

甚至连最为保守的地域

even in some of the most conservative of places.

也因此转变了态度。

Take the Pope.

拿教皇来说。

As Cardinal in 2010,

2010 年，在他还是红衣主教时，

he was completely against gay marriage.

他彻底反对同性婚姻。

He becomes Pope.

他后来当了教皇。

And three years after the last sentence

当上教皇的三年后

he comes out with "Who am I to judge?"

他对外称：“我有什么资格评论？”

And then today, he's in favor of civil unions.

而今天，他赞同各式民事结合。

As you're thinking about technology changing ethics,

当你想到科技改变道德准则，

you also have to consider that technology is now moving exponentially.

你也得考虑到科技如今 也在呈指数级变化。

As right and wrong changes,

随着是与非的转变，

if you take the position, "I know right.

如果你的立场是： 我知道什么是对的。

And if you completely disagree with me, if you partially disagree with me,

如果你彻底反对我， 如果你有所选择地反对我，

if you even quibble with me, then you're wrong,"

如果你对我稍有非议， 你就是错的。

then there's no discussion,

那就不会有讨论、

不会有容忍，或进步， 自然也没有学习了。

no tolerance, no evolution, and certainly no learning.

Most of us are not vegetarians yet.

我们大部分人都还不是素食主义者。

Then again, we haven't had

再次，我们以前也没有多少

a whole lot of faster, better, cheaper alternatives to meat.

更便捷、更优质、 更廉价的肉类替代品，

But now that we're getting synthetic meats,

但现在我们有合成肉类。

as the price drops from 380,000 dollars in 2013

其价格从 2013 年的 38 万美元

to 9 dollars today,

降到了如今的 9 美元，

a great big chunk of people

许多人将因此

are going to start becoming vegetarian or quasi-vegetarian.

开始成为素食或准素食主义者。

And then in retrospect, these pictures

再回看过去的照片，

of walking into the fanciest, most expensive restaurants in town

人们走进城里最奢华、 最昂贵的餐厅，

and walking past racks of bloody steaks

经过一排排汁血淋漓的牛排。

is going to look very different in 10 years, in 20 years and 30 years.

10年、20年、30年后再来看， 人们都会对这场景有不同看法。

In these polarized times,

在这两极分化的时代，

I'd like to revive two words you rarely hear today:

我想重拾两个如今鲜少听到的词：

humility and forgiveness.

人性和原谅。

When you judge the past, your ancestors, your forefathers,

当你评论过去， 评论父辈和先人时，

do so with a little bit more humility,

要怀有更多的人性。

because perhaps if you'd been educated in that time,

因为如果你也受教于那个时代，

if you'd lived in that time,

如果你也生活在那个时代，

you would've done a lot of things wrong.

你也会做出许多错事。

Not because they're right.

不是因为他们是对的，

Not because we don't see they're wrong today,

不是因为 我们现在认为他们是对的，

but simply because our notions,

仅仅只是因为我们的观念、

our understanding of right and wrong change across time.

我们的是非观随着时间转变了。

The second word, forgiveness.

第二个词，原谅。

Forgiveness is incredibly important these days.

原谅在当今极其重要。

You cannot cancel somebody for saying the wrong word,

不能因为某个人说错了话、 或是在十年前犯了错，

for having done something 10 years ago,

或是因为你觉得此人

for having triggered you and not being a hundred percent right.

无法保持百分百的正确 而将此人封杀。

To build a community, you have to build it and talk to people

要创建一个社群，

你必须在创建的同时 和那些观点跟你千差万别的人

and learn from people

who may have very different points of view from yours.

保持对话和学习。

You have to allow them a space

你必须为他们保留空间，

instead of creating a no man's land.

而非创造一片不毛之地。

A middle ground, a ??? and a space of empathy.

一个中立之地， 一个能相互感同身受的空间。

This is a time to build community.

这是一个创建社群的时代，

This is not a time to continue ripping nations apart.

不是继续民族分化的时代。

Thank you very much.

非常感谢。