Jonathan Zittrain: The Web as random acts of kindness

翻译人员: Bin Xie 校对人员: Bo Wang

My name is Jonathan Zittrain,

我叫乔纳森•兹特瑞

and in my recent work I've been a bit of a pessimist.

在最近工作的时候，我总是有一点悲观主义。

So I thought this morning I would try to be the optimist,

所以今天早晨我觉得我应该尝试变成一个乐观主义者。

and give reason to hope

并且根据互联的现状

for the future of the Internet

给大家足够的理由去憧憬

by drawing upon its present.

互联网的未来

Now, it may seem like there is less hope today than there was before.

现在，希望似乎比从前要少。

People are less kind. There is less trust around.

人们越来越不友好，我们周围的信任少了。

I don't know. As a simple example,

但我不这么认为。举个简单的例子。

we could run a test here.

我们可以在这里做一个测试。

How many people have ever hitchhiked?

请问在座的各位有多少人曾搭过便车？

I know. How many people have hitchhiked

好，我知道了。多少人在过去的10年内

within the past 10 years?

曾搭过便车？

Right. So what has changed?

好。那么，什么改变了？

It's not better public transportation.

看来公交交通并没有更发达

So that's one reason to think that we might be

所以这个例子证明我们可能是

declensionists, going in the wrong direction.

走向错误方向的变革主义者。

But I want to give you three examples

但是我想给你们举三个例子，

to try to say that the trend line

试着说明这个趋势

is in fact in the other direction,

实际上是往相反方向的。

and it's the Internet helping it along.

而且是互联网在推波助澜。

So example number one: the Internet itself.

那么，举例一，互联网本身。

These are three of the founders of the Internet.

这是互联网的三位创始人

They were actually high school classmates together

他们实际上是中学同学。

at the same high school in suburban Los Angles in the 1960s.

20世纪60年代他们在洛杉矶郊区的同一所中学上学。

You might have had a French club or a Debate club.

你们也许曾创办过法国社或辩论社，

They had a "Let's build a global network" club,

他们却创建了名为“让我们来建一个世界网络”的社团，

and it worked out very well.

而且运行得很顺利。

They are pictured here for their 25th anniversary

这是他们在

Newsweek retrospective on the Internet.

新闻周刊回顾网络历史25周年的照片

And as you can tell,

正如你们所见，

they are basically goof balls.

他们基本上都是傻蛋。

They had one great limitation

他们有一个很大的限制，

and one great freedom

也有一个很棒的自由，

as they tried to conceive of a global network.

当他们试图设想一个全球网络的时候。

The limitation was that they didn't have any money.

限制在于，他们没有一丁点钱，

No particular amount of capital to invest,

没有特定规模的资金来投资。

of the sort that for a physical network

对于一个实体的网络来说，

you might need for trucks and people

你可能需要卡车、人力

and a hub to move packages around overnight.

和交换器去整夜运送包裹。

They had none of that.

他们没有这些。

But they had an amazing freedom,

但是他们有一个惊人的自由，

which was they didn't have to make any money from it.

那就是，他们不需要从中赚钱。

The Internet has no business plan, never did.

这个网络没有，也从来没有商业计划。

No CEO,

没有首席执行官，

no firm responsible, singly, for building it.

没有一个公司负责任地、单独地去建设它。

Instead, it's folks getting together

取而代之，它是几个家伙凑在一起，

to do something for fun,

去做一些好玩的事，

rather than because they were told to,

而不是被人指使，

or because they were expecting to make a mint off of it.

也不是想要从中牟取哪怕一点点利益。

That ethos led to a network architecture,

那种风气酝酿出了一种网络架构，

a structure that was unlike

一种前无古人后无来者的

other digital networks then or since.

数字网络架构。

So unusual, in fact,

所以，不寻常的是，事实上，

that it was said that it's not clear the Internet could work.

据说搞不清楚这个网络是否能运作。

As late as 1992, IBM was known to say

直到1992年，IBM表示，

you couldn't possibly build a corporate network

不可能用互联网协议

using Internet Protocol.

去建一个企业网络。

And even some Internet engineers today say

甚至时至今日，一些网络工程师仍说，

the whole thing is a pilot project and the jury is still out.

这整个东西是一个试点工程，陪审团还没到位。

(Laughter)

（笑）

That's why the mascot of Internet engineering,

这就是为什么网络工程的吉祥物，

if it had one, is said to be the bumblebee.

如果有的话，据说是一只大黄蜂。

Because the fur-to-wingspan ratio of the bumblebee

是因为大黄蜂的皮和翼展比实在是太大了，

is far too large for it to be able to fly.

大到不能飞。

And yet, mysteriously, somehow the bee flies.

但是，奇怪的是，无论如何黄蜂飞起来了。

I'm pleased to say that, thanks to massive government funding,

我很高兴地说，多亏了巨额政府基金，

about three years ago we finally figured out

大约在三年前我们终于弄明白

how bees fly.

黄蜂是怎么飞的了。

(Laughter)

（笑）

It's very complicated, but it turns out they

原理非常复杂，但是结果是

flap their wings very quickly.

他们非常快速地拍打翅膀。

(Laughter)

（笑）

So what is this bizarre architecture configuration

那么，这个使网络运行起来且变得如此不同寻常的

that makes the network sing and be so unusual?

奇异的结构配置是什么呢？

Well, to move data around

要把数据从一个地方传输到另一个地方，

from one place to another -- again, it's not like a package courier.

——再次声明，不是类似快递员那样

It's more like a mosh pit.

它更像是“狂舞区”（摇滚表演时舞台下方疯狂混乱的人群）。

(Laughter)

（笑）

Imagine, you being part of a network

想象你自己是网络的一部分，

where, you're maybe at a sporting event,

在那里你也许正在参加一个体育盛会，

and you're sitting in rows like this,

你像这样坐在队伍里，

and somebody asks for a beer,

有人要啤酒，

and it gets handed at the aisle.

啤酒从过道被传递过来。

And your neighborly duty

你作为邻座的义务

is to pass the beer along,

就是把啤酒传递下去，

at risk to your own trousers,

冒着自己裤子被弄脏的风险，

to get it to the destination.

把它传递到那个人。™

No one pays you to do this.

没有人付钱让你做这些。

It's just part of your neighborly duty.

它只是你作为邻座的义务而已。

And, in a way, that's exactly how packets move around the Internet,

某种程度上，那恰恰是信息包在互联网中传送的方式。

sometimes in as many as 25 or 30 hops,

有时候要跳25或30个节点，

with the intervening entities

借助那种将数据到处传递的

that are passing the data around

干预进来的实体，

having no particular contractual or legal obligation

对原始发送者或者接受者

to the original sender

没有具体的合同

or to the receiver.

或法律责任。

Now, of course, in a mosh pit it's hard to specify a destination.

当然，现在很难在“狂舞区”里指定一个终点。

You need a lot of trust,

你需要很多信任，

but it's not like, "I'm trying to get to Pensacola, please."

但它不像是“麻烦您我想去彭萨科拉”。

So the Internet needs addressing and directions.

所以互联网需要地址和方向。

It turns out there is no one overall map of the Internet.

互联网变成了没有整体的地图。

Instead, again, it is as if we are all sitting together in a theater,

而是，好像我们又一次都坐在剧场里，

but we can only see amidst the fog

但我们只能在雾中看到

the people immediately around us.

当下在我们身边的人。

So what do we do to figure out who is where?

那么我们怎么样去弄清楚谁在哪里呢？

We turn to the person on the right,

我们转向右边的人，

and we tell that person what we see on our left,

告诉他我们在左边看到什么，

and vice versa.

反之亦然。

And they can lather, rinse, repeat. And before you know it,

他们可以传递下去，在你能意识到之前，

you have a general sense of where everything is.

你已经对所以东西在哪有了个大致的印象。

This is how Internet addressing and routing actually work.

这就是网络寻址和路由实际上的工作原理。

This is a system that relies on kindness and trust,

这是一个依赖美德和信任的系统，

which also makes it very delicate and vulnerable.

但美德和信赖也使它变得微妙而脆弱。

In rare but striking instances,

举个罕见但突出的例子，

a single lie told by just one entity

在这个网络中某一个人说了

in this honeycomb

一个谎话，

can lead to real trouble.

可以导致真正的麻烦。

So, for example, last year,

所以，比如说，去年，

the government of Pakistan

巴基斯坦政府

asked its Internet service providers there

要求国内的网络服务提供商

to prevent citizens of Pakistan from seeing YouTube.

屏蔽巴基斯坦市民看You Tube。

There was a video there that the government did not like

那上面有政府不喜欢的一个视频，

and they wanted to make sure it was blocked.

他们想要确保它被屏蔽了。

This is a common occurrence. Governments everywhere

这是一个常见的现象。

are often trying to block

各国政府都经常试图屏蔽，

and filter and censor content on the Internet.

过滤和审查网络上的内容。

Well this one ISP in Pakistan

但这个巴基斯坦网络服务提供商

chose to effectuate the block for its subscribers

用一种不寻常的方式

in a rather unusual way.

来屏蔽他的用户。

It advertised --

它宣称——

the way that you might be asked, if you were part of the Internet,

如果你懂网络，别人可能会要求你

to declare what you see near you -- it advertised

告知你在周围看到了什么——它宣称——

that near it, in fact, it had suddenly awakened to find

在它旁边的，事实上，它猛然发现是

that it was YouTube.

You Tube

"That's right," it said, "I am YouTube."

“对！”它说，“我是You Tube。”

Which meant that packets of data

也就是说，从用户向You Tube

from subscribers going to YouTube

发送的信息包

stopped at the ISP, since they thought they were already there,

在网络服务提供商那里被截了下来，然而用户以为数据已经被传送到了youtube。

and the ISP threw them away unopened

事实是网络服务提供商将它们悄悄扔掉，

because the point was to block it.

因为重点就是屏蔽它。

But it didn't stop there.

但是，它没有就此打住。

You see, that announcement

你们看，那个公告，

went one click out,

点一下就出来

which got reverberated, one click out.

它不断回荡，点一下

And it turns out that as you look

然后它就变成了你看到的样子。

at the postmortem of this event,

后果是，

you have at one moment

你的You Tube在短时间内

perfectly working YouTube.

显得很正常

Then, at moment number two,

然后，过一会，

you have the fake announcement go out.

假公告出来了。

And within two minutes,

然后，两分钟以内，

it reverberates around

它在四周回荡开，

and YouTube is blocked everywhere in the world.

然后Youtube就在全世界都被屏蔽了。

If you were sitting in Oxford, England, trying to get to YouTube,

如果你在英国牛津，试图上You Tube，

your packets were going to Pakistan

你的信息包去向了巴基斯坦，

and they weren't coming back.

再也回不来了。

Now just think about that.

大家想，

One of the most popular websites in the world,

作为世界上最有影响力的公司经营的

run by the most powerful company in the world,

世界上最有名的网站之一，

and there was nothing that YouTube or Google

Youtube和Google

were particularly privileged to do about it.

却没有有效的特权去解决这个问题。

And yet, somehow, within about two hours,

但是，不知何故，两小时之内，

the problem was fixed.

这个问题就解决了。

How did this happen?

为什么会这样？

Well, for a big clue, we turn to NANOG.

一个重要的线索来自NANOG，

The North American Network Operators Group,

北美网络运营商组织，

a group of people who,

这群人

on a beautiful day outside,

他们在阳光明媚的天气里，

enter into a windowless room,

进到一个没有窗子的房间，

at their terminals

来到他们的终端前，

reading email and messages

阅读邮件和信息，

in fixed proportion font, like this,

用一种固定比例的字体，就像这个。

and they talk about networks.

他们在谈论网络，

And some of them are mid-level employees at Internet service providers

他们其中的一些人是全世界网络服务提供商的

around the world.

中层雇员。

And here is the message where one of them says,

其中一个人说，

"Looks like we've got a live one. We have a hijacking of YouTube!

“看来我们抓到现形了，Youtube被劫持了！

This is not a drill. It's not just the cluelessness

这不是演习，也不是Youtube工程师的无能

of YouTube engineers. I promise.

我发誓。

Something is up in Pakistan."

在巴基斯坦出事了。”

And they came together to help find the problem and fix it.

然后他们就一起帮助寻找问题然后解决它。

So it's kind of like if your house catches on fire.

所以这有点像你家房子着火了，

The bad news is there is no fire brigade.

坏消息是，没有消防队。

The good news is random people apparate from nowhere,

好消息是，不知从哪里冒出来的路人，

put out the fire and leave without expecting payment or praise.

把火扑灭了，然后离开，不期待你付钱或表扬。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

I was trying to think of the right model to describe

我试图想出一种合适的模型来描述

this form of random acts of kindness

这种“讨厌的陌生人随机善良行为”

by geeky strangers.

的模式，

(Laughter)

（笑）

You know, it's just like the hail goes out

你知道，就像下冰雹的时候，

and people are ready to help.

人们已经准备好伸出援手。

And it turns out this model is everywhere, once you start looking for it.

原来当你开始寻找这种模型的时候，才发现它在世界的每个角落。

Example number two: Wikipedia.

第二个例子：维基百科

If a man named Jimbo came up to you in 2001

如果2001年，一个叫金博的人找到你，

and said, "I've got a great idea! We start with seven articles

说，“我有一个好主意！我们从七篇文章开始，

that anybody can edit anything, at any time,

任何人任何时候都可以编辑它们，

and we'll get a great encyclopedia! Eh?"

那么我们就能获得一本很棒的百科全书！是吧？”

Right. Dumbest idea ever.

对。有史以来最愚蠢的想法。

(Laughter)

（笑）

In fact, Wikipedia is an idea so profoundly stupid

事实上，维基百科是一个金博从来没有过的，

that even Jimbo never had it.

愚蠢又深刻的点子。

Jimbo's idea was for Nupedia.

金博的点子其实是Nupedia

It was going to be totally traditional. He would pay people money

它会变得完全传统。他会付给人们钱，

because he was feeling like a good guy,

因为他感觉好像是个好人。

and the money would go to the people

钱会付给人们，

and they would write the articles.

然后他们来写文章。

The wiki was introduced

维基应运而生，

so others could make suggestions on edits --

别人可以为修改提出意见——

as almost an afterthought, a back room.

好像事后修补，相当于后屋。

And then it turns out the back room grew

然后后屋越建越大，

to encompass the entire project.

扩展成了整个项目。

And today, Wikipedia is so ubiquitous

时至今日，维基百科无处不在，

that you can now find it on Chinese restaurant menus.

以至于你可以在中餐馆的菜单里看见它。

(Laughter)

（笑）

I am not making this up.

我没有编造。

(Laughter)

（笑）

I have a theory I can explain later.

我有个理论，我可以迟些解释。

Suffice it to say for now that I prefer my Wikipedia

一言以蔽之，目前我更喜欢我的维基百科

stir-fried with pimentos.

和香果一起炒。

(Laughter)

（笑）

But now, Wikipedia doesn't just spontaneously work.

但是现在，维基百科并不只是自发地运作着

How does it really work? It turns out

它实际上是怎样运作的呢？

there is a back room that is kind of windowless,

原来有一个没有窗的后屋，

metaphorically speaking.

打个比方，

And there are a bunch of people who, on a sunny day,

有一群人，在阳光明媚的一天，

would rather be inside

宁愿呆在屋内，

and monitoring this, the administrator's notice board,

修改这个管理者公告板，

itself a wiki page that anyone can edit.

它本身就是个谁都可以编辑的维基页。

And you just bring your problems to the page.

于是你把你的问题放到这页上来，

It's reminiscent of the description of history

这使人想起了历史的描述，

as "one damn thing after another," right?

“糟糕的事一件接一件”，对吗？

Number one: "Tendentious editing by user Andyvphil."

第一：“由用户安迪•弗菲尔编辑的有倾向性内容。”

Apologies, Andyvphil, if you're here today.

安迪•弗菲尔，如果你今天在这儿，对不起。

I'm not taking sides.

我没有在偏袒。

"Anon attacking me for reverting."

“阿尼翁为了报复而攻击我。”

Here is my favorite: "A long story."

这是我最喜欢的：“说来话长。”

(Laughter)

（笑）

It turns out there are more people checking this page for problems

之后越来越多的人来到这个页面挖掘问题

and wanting to solve them

并解决这些问题

than there are problems arising on the page.

现在有更多的问题在这个页面上出现了。

And that's what keeps Wikipedia afloat.

这就是使维基百科传播下去的东西。

At all times, Wikipedia is approximately

任何时候，维基百科都面临着45分钟后

45 minutes away from utter destruction. Right?

就彻底崩溃的危险，对吧？

There are spambots crawling it, trying to turn every article

有垃圾邮件程序在上面爬行，

into an ad for a Rolex watch.

试图把每一篇文章都变成劳力士手表广告

(Laughter)

（笑）

It's this thin geeky line

正是这条细细的让人讨厌的线

that keeps it going.

维持它的运行

Not because it's a job,

不是因为它是个工作，

not because it's a career,

不是因为它是份职业，

but because it's a calling.

而是因为它是个感召，

It's something they feel impelled to do

是一件他们认为必须去做的事。

because they care about it.

因为他们在乎它。

They even gather together in such groups

他们甚至在这种群组里聚在一起，

as the Counter-Vandalism Unit --

作为“反破坏行为租”——

"Civility, Maturity, Responsibility" --

“文明，成熟，责任”——

to just clean up the pages.

来清理这些页面。

It does make you wonder if there were, for instance,

确实令你想弄明白，举个例子，是不是

a massive, extremely popular Star Trek convention one weekend,

每周末都有冗长而普遍的“星际迷航”公约

who would be minding the store?

那谁会来看店？

(Laughter)

笑

So what we see --

所以我们所看到的

(Laughter)

笑

what we see in this phenomenon

我们所看到的这个现象

is something that the crazed, late traffic engineer

是疯狂的交通工程师

Hans Monderman discovered in the Netherlands,

汉斯 蒙德曼在荷兰的发明

and here in South Kensington, that sometimes

在南肯辛通

if you remove some of the external rules and signs and everything else,

如果你去除一些多余的规则和道路标识以及其他的相关事物

you can actually end up

你最终会生活在

with a safer environment in which people can function,

一个由人来发挥作用的更安全的环境

and one in which they are more human with each other.

并且是一个更人性化的环境

They're realizing that they

他们意识到他们

have to take responsibility for what they do.

必须为他们所做的负责

And Wikipedia has embraced this.

而维基百科就拥有这种精神

Some of you may remember Star Wars Kid,

你们可能还记得那位星际男孩

the poor teenager who filmed himself with a golf ball retriever,

那位拍摄自己拿着高尔夫球杆

acting as if it were a light saber.

就好像自己拿着光剑一样的穷小孩

The film, without his permission or even knowledge at first,

这个视频，未经他的允许，甚至在他不知道的情况下

found its way onto the Internet.

在网上传播开来

Hugely viral video. Extremely popular.

并成为携带严重病毒的视频，因为它非常受欢迎

Totally mortifying to him.

这让星际男孩非常苦恼

Now, it being encyclopedic and all,

如今，这事已广为人知

Wikipedia had to do an article about Star Wars Kid.

所以维基百科应该写篇关于星际男孩的文章

Every article on Wikipedia has a corresponding discussion page,

维基百科上的文章都有相应的讨论页面

and on the discussion page

在这个讨论页面上

they had extensive argument among the Wikipedians

维基百科人对是否要在文章中标注

as to whether to have his real name

星际男孩的真实姓名

featured in the article.

进行了广泛的争论

You could see arguments on both sides.

你可以看到双方的争论观点

Here is just a snapshot of some of them.

当然这只是其中一部分

They eventually decided --

但他们最终决定

not unanimously by any means --

并不是一致同意

not to include his real name,

不标注真实姓名

despite the fact that nearly all media reports did.

即使几乎所有的媒体在报导中写明了真实姓名

They just didn't think it was the right thing to do.

维基百科人就认为这是不对的

It was an act of kindness.

这是一种充满善意的行为

And to this day, the page for Star Wars Kid

至今，关于星际男孩的网页

has a warning right at the top

右上方有个警告提示

that says you are not to put his real name on the page.

说星际男孩的真实姓名是不允许标注的

If you do, it will be removed immediately,

如果你标注了，你的文章将被立即删除

removed by people who may have disagreed with the original decision,

被不同意最初决定

but respect the outcome

但尊重这个决定

and work to make it stay

并让这个决定运作的人删除

because they believe in something bigger than their own opinion.

因为他们相信与他们的观点相比，有些事更重要

As a lawyer, I've got to say these guys are inventing the law

作为一名法律工作者，我得说这此家伙在创造法律

and stare decisis and stuff like that as they go along.

和先例，一些他们要遵守的东西

Now, this isn't just limited to Wikipedia.

现在，这不仅限于维基百科

We see it on blogs all over the place.

我们随处都可以在博客上看到

I mean, this is a 2005 Business Week cover.

这是一张2005年商业周刊的封面

Wow. Blogs are going to change your business.

哇，博客正在改变着你们的商业模式

I know they look silly. And sure they look silly.

我知道他们看起来很傻，确实他们很傻

They start off on all sorts of goofy projects.

他们创建各种各样的愚蠢的项目

This is my favorite goofy blog:

这是我最喜欢的傻瓜博客

Catsthatlooklikehitler.com.

（一只像希特勒的猫）

(Laughter)

笑

You send in a picture of your cat

你把你的猫的照片传上去

if it looks like Hitler.

如果它看起来像希特勒

(Laughter)

笑

Yeah, I know. Number four, it's like, can you imagine

哈哈我知道，第四张非常像，你能想像

coming home to that cat everyday?

每天回家就看到那只猫吗

(Laughter)

笑

But then, you can see the same kind of whimsy

但是，你可以看到很多类似的怪想法

applied to people.

用在人类身上

So this is a blog devoted to unfortunate portraiture.

这是一个全是不幸的肖像照片的博客

This one says, "Bucolic meadow with split-rail fence.

这张照片的标题是：有栅栏的牧场

Is that an animal carcass behind her?"

是不是有个动物尸体在她身后

(Laughter)

笑

You're like, "You know? I think that's an animal carcass

你就可能会说：你知道吗，我觉得她身后

behind her."

有个动物尸体

And it's one after the other.

这是后面一个

But then you hit this one. Image removed at request of owner.

但你点击这张图片时显示：经图片所有人要求，此图片已删除

That's it. Image removed at request of owner.

看到了吧，经图片所有人要求，此图片已删除

It turns out that somebody lampooned here

这是有人在嘲讽

wrote to the snarky guy that does the site,

无礼的博主

not with a legal threat, not with an offer of payment,

不用法律去威胁也不要求博主支付罚款

but just said, "Hey, would you mind?"

而只是说：嗨，你介意吗

The person said, "No, that's fine."

那人说：没关系

I believe we can build architectures online

我相信我们可以在网上创建这样的架构

to make such human requests

去提出人性化的要求

that much easier to do,

这更容易实施

to make it possible for all of us to see

也更可能让我们都了解

that the data we encounter online

我们在网上遇到的数据

is just stuff on which to click and paste and copy and forward

只是我们要点击，粘贴和转发的东西

that actually represents human emotion

而这些东西代表了人类的情感

and endeavor and impact,

努力和影响力

and to be able to have an ethical moment

人类可以表现得有道德

where we decide how we want to treat it.

当我们决定怎么去对待道德

I even think it can go into the real world.

我甚至觉得这些都可以在现实世界中实现

We can end up, as we get in a world with more censors --

我们可以结束这些现象，当我们处在审查越来越普遍的世界

everywhere there is something filming you, maybe putting it online --

在各个地方你可能会被摄影，可能摄影的照片被放到网上

to be able to have a little clip you could wear

可以有一小段里面你穿着写有

that says, "You know, I'd rather not."

“你知道，我宁愿不。。。”的衣服

And then have technology

然后有这样的一种科技

that the person taking the photo will know later,

拍照的人知道

this person requested to be contacted

他被要求与照片上的人联系

before this goes anywhere big,

在这张照片还没有广泛传播以前

if you don't mind.

如果你不介意

And that person taking the photo can make a decision

那个拍照的人可以自己作决定

about how and whether to respect it.

怎么或是否去尊重照片上的人

In the real world, we see filtering of this sort

在现实世界中，我们看到与巴基斯坦

taking place in Pakistan.

类似的过滤行为

And we now have means that we can build, like this system,

并且我们现在有方法来创建这样一个系统

so that people can report the filtering as they encounter it.

在这个系统中人们可以报告他们遇到的过滤行为

And it's no longer just a "I don't know. I couldn't get there. I guess I'll move on,"

而不再是“我不知道，我没法登录，我想我要继续下去”

but suddenly a collective consciousness

但突然之间，对于网络

about what is blocked and censored

屏蔽和审查

where online.

有了集体性的反省

In fact, talk about technology imitating life

其实，谈到科技模仿生活

imitating tech, or maybe it's the other way around.

或叫做模仿科技，或可能有其他的叫法

An NYU researcher here took little cardboard robots

一位纽约大学的研究人员发明了小的纸板机器人

with smiley faces on them,

并在机器人上画有笑脸

and a motor that just drove them forward

用马达推动机器人前进

and a flag sticking out the back

机器人的背面有面旗子

with a desired destination.

写有想要到达的目的地

It said, "Can you help me get there?"

同时也写着：你能把我带到那边吗？

Released it on the streets of Manhattan.

那位研究人员竟然把机器人放在曼哈顿的街道上

(Laughter)

笑

They'll fund anything these days.

看来如今任何事都可能被资助

Here is the chart of over 43 people

这是一张图表，关于43人

helping to steer the robot that could not steer

帮助迷路的机器人找到方向

and get it on its way, from one corner

让机器人顺着路

from one corner of Washington Square Park

华盛顿公园的一角到

to another.

另一角

That leads to example number three: hitchhiking.

那我们就可以谈谈第三个例子了：搭便车

I'm not so sure hitchhiking is dead.

我不清楚搭便车是否已经不流行了

Why? There is the Craigslist rideshare board.

为什么呢？因为这个克雷格列表（网站名）的共享车辆的公告板

If it were called the Craigslist hitchhiking board,

如果这个排名被叫作克雷格列表的搭便车公告板

tumbleweeds would be blowing through it.

那风野草（一种植物）就会把它吹掉

But it's the rideshare board, and it's basically the same thing.

但这是共享车辆的公告板，这基本上是同样一回事

Now why are people using it?

现在为什么人们要用这个词呢

I don't know. Maybe they think that, uh, killers don't plan ahead?

我不知道，可能是因为他们认识杀手不会先下手为强？

(Laughter)

笑

No. I think the actual answer is

不，我认为真正的答案是

that once you reframe it,

一旦你重新构建它

once you get out of one set of stale expectations

一旦你不再寄希望于

from a failed project that had its day,

成功过

but now, for whatever reason, is tarnished,

但现在出于某种原因失败的陈腐项目

you can actually rekindle the kind of human kindness and sharing

事实上你可以重新唤起人类内心的道德和共享意识

that something like this on Craigslist represents.

就像克雷格列表上展现的一样

And then you can highlight it

然后你就可以

into something like,

在一些类似的网站上倡导一下

yes, CouchSurfing.org.

对，这是像CouchSurfing这个网站

CouchSurfing: one guy's idea

CouchSurfing是某个家伙出于这样的想法而创建

to, at last, put together people who are going somewhere far away

他把那些要去很远地方的

and would like to sleep on a stranger's couch for free,

并想免费睡在陌生人家沙发上的人

with people who live far away,

和那些在远方的

and would like someone they don't know to sleep on their couch for free.

并愿意让陌生人免费睡在他们的沙发上的人联系在一起

It's a brilliant idea.

这是很聪明的想法

It's a bee that, yes, flies.

而且也成功了

Amazing how many successful couch surfings there have been.

很不可思议，有那么多人通过CouchSurfing联系在一起

And if you're wondering, no, there have been no known fatalities

你们是否想知道有没有不幸发生？在所知范围内完全没有

associated with CouchSurfing.

关于CouchSurfing的不幸

Although, to be sure, the reputation system, at the moment,

虽然我可以肯定，之所以现在有那么好的声誉

works that you leave your report after the couch surfing experience,

是因为报告都是在事情发生之后的

so there may be some selection bias there.

所以可能在选择上动过手脚

(Laughter)

笑

So, my urging, my thought,

所以，我强烈建议，我的想法是

is that the Internet isn't just a pile of information.

网络不只是一堆信息

It's not a noun. It's a verb.

它不是一个名词，而是一个动词

And when you go on it,

当你在网上时

if you listen and see carefully and closely enough,

如果你足够仔细地听和看

what you will discover

你就会发现

is that that information

信息

is saying something to you.

在向你诉说着什么

What it's saying to you is what we heard yesterday,

它所说的就是我们昨天听到的

Demosthenes was saying to us.

德摩斯梯尼（古希腊雄辩家）告诉我们

It's saying, "Let's march." Thank you very much.

“让我们向前进”。谢谢大家

(Applause)

掌声