Max Hawkins: I let algorithms randomize my life for two years | TED

Transcriber:

譯者: Jing-Ai Huang 審譯者: 麗玲 辛

我以前喜歡在 7 點鐘準時起床。

那時候我住在舊金山，

我會在早上七點醒來，

I used to love waking up at exactly 7:00am.

馬上去我最喜歡的咖啡店。

它是我最喜歡的咖啡店， 因為那時候它是最好的咖啡店。

When I lived in San Francisco,

I would wake up right at 7:00am

我做了研究，它有五顆星，很棒。

and immediately go to my favorite coffee shop.

我會喝咖啡，

It was my favorite coffee shop, because it was the best coffee shop.

然後騎腳踏車去上班。

我儘量讓我的行程顯得完美。

I had done the research, it was five stars, it was great.

And I would drink my coffee

例如，我會省一兩秒的時間，

and get onto my bicycle and ride into work.

讓行程快一點，

And I had optimized my schedule to be perfect.

我才能趕快開始工作。

I was constantly, like, shaving off one or two seconds

我那時在 Google 是個軟體工程師，

在很多方面，

making it slightly faster

這是我夢寐以求的工作，

so I could get into work faster.

我覺得

這就是我人生最終的目標。

I was working as a software engineer at Google,

and in a lot of ways,

我一直想從事軟體的工作，

this was my dream job.

而我終於做到了。

It felt like this was the thing

我住在舊金山，

它是我非常喜歡的一座城市，

that the rest of my life was leading up towards.

周圍都是像我一樣的人，

I'd always wanted to work in software

and I was finally doing it.

生活的每一部分都完全符合

And I was living in San Francisco,

我的興趣和我想做的事情。

which is a city that I love,

surrounded by people who were like me.

我非常喜歡。

And every part of my life was perfectly tailored to my interests,

有一個工作天，我讀了一份論文，

the things that I wanted to do.

一篇關於預測分析的資工論文，

And I loved it.

論文的要旨是

So one day I was at work and I started to read this paper,

如果你追蹤某人的位置，

a computer science research paper about predictive analytics.

像是他在上個月去過的所有地方，

And the gist of the paper was

that if you take someone's GPS trace,

把這些資訊輸入到機器學習演算法，

like the listing of all the places that they've been in the past month or so,

你就能以極高的準確度

預測到他隔天會去的地方。

and you feed it into a machine-learning algorithm,

我覺得這蠻酷的。

我當時就想，

如果把我的定位系統軌跡 放在演算法裡，那會怎樣？

you can predict with fairly high accuracy

where they're going to be on the following day.

會有什麼結果出現?

And I thought this was kind of cool.

And I was thinking, like,

那時候，我正在跟我的朋友凱利說話，

what would happen if you put my GPS trace into the algorithm?

規畫著下班後的行程，

What would come out the other end?

我用 Yelp 找到了一個 很好的酒吧，才剛開幕不久，

So I was talking with my friend Kelly,

and we were planning something to do after work that day.

我正要建議我們去這家酒吧的時候，

我停住了。

And I got onto Yelp and found this really great bar

我想起了那個演算法，

that had just opened up.

And I was about to suggest that we go to this bar

我想，等等！

when I stopped.

該不會這酒吧就是演算法猜想 我今晚會去的地方?

And I started thinking about that algorithm again.

And I started thinking, wait a second,

越想越奇怪，

isn't this bar exactly where that algorithm would guess

因為我覺得

這真的是我的決定嗎?

that I was going to go this evening?

And that was kind of weird.

我知道我是那個做決定的人，是吧？

Because I thought that I ...

但是電腦怎麼會知道?

where was I in that?

這讓我有點不安。

I know that I was the one making the choice, right?

因為我是工程師，

當我面臨到這種問題， 我的直覺是去修復它，

But how did the computer know about that?

So that was a little disturbing.

讓它解決問題。

And since I'm an engineer, whenever I have a problem like this,

所以我決定建立一個程式，

my instinct is to fix it,

讓程式決定我當天晚上要去的地方。

to make something that solves the problem.

And so I decided to make an app

這個程式的流程是

它會搜索所有在 Google 地圖上舊金山的地點，

that would help me choose where to go on this evening.

隨機選一個地點，

And so the way that it works

它自己會叫優步計程車，

is that the app looks at all the places

車子就會到你所在的位置，

that are on Google maps in the city of San Francisco,

and then chooses one at random.

帶你到某個隨機的地點。

And then it calls an Uber.

程式直接告訴司機目的地，

And that car shows up at your location

但是不告訴你，

所以你到達目的地的時候 就會是個驚喜。

and takes you to that random place.

(笑聲)

It tells the Uber driver where the random place is,

我傳簡訊給凱利說， 我們應該用這個程式。

but tells you nothing.

And so it's a big surprise when you arrive.

我們踫面，按下了按鈕，

(Laughter)

突然，奇蹟似的，

And so I texted Kelly and I said, "We should do this."

優步司機就在我家的門口。

We met up and pressed the button.

我們上了車，

很快地前往某個 我們都不知情的舊金山景點，

And suddenly, miraculously,

there was an Uber driver at my apartment door.

一個我們以前從未去過的城鎮。

So we got in

and very quickly started heading to a part of San Francisco

當司機先生說我們抵達了目的地，

that neither of us really knew.

我們以為這只是個玩笑。

It was a part of town that we just had never been in before.

我們出現在這座樸素的磚砌建築前，

And when the driver told us we had reached our destination,

前面有一道鍛鐵圍欄，

we thought it must have been a joke.

和一個標誌，寫著 舊金山總醫院精神科急診中心。

We showed up in front of this austere brick building

with a wrought iron fence in front of it,

(笑聲)

and a sign that said the words

也許這很合適，

San Francisco General Hospital, Psychiatric Emergency Center.

也許吧。

(笑聲)

我們覺得這個很好笑，

(Laughter)

也很令人振奮，

Which, maybe that's pretty appropriate,

因為我們去了一個 我們本來不會去的地方，

I don't know.

(Laughter)

But we thought it was funny.

在星期五晚上做一些不同的事情。

But it was also exhilarating

because here we were,

(笑聲)

我迷上了這件事，

in this place that we never would have gone to otherwise,

我開始使用這個程式，

doing something really different on a Friday night.

走遍整個舊金山，

(Laughter)

我隨機地去了博物館、

And I was hooked,

超市、酒吧、保齡球場和花店。

I started using this app

to go to all different places in San Francisco.

我開始發現

I went to museums randomly,

有好大一部份的舊金山

random grocery stores, random bars, random bowling alleys,

因為我自己的偏好被忽略了。

random florists.

And I started discovering

that there was an entire side to San Francisco

我就開始想，

that I had been ignoring because of my preference.

我如何把這個發現融入我的生活裡?

所以我開始建立 其他涉及隨機性的實驗。

And then I started thinking,

我做了一個隨機 YouTube 影片生成器、

how else can I apply this concept to my life?

一個隨機計畫生成器和

一個隨機飲食俱樂部，

And so I started building other experiments that involved randomness.

它會每週從我的飲食中 隨機刪去某種食物。

I made a random YouTube video generator,

(笑聲)

a random schedule generator,

這是累加性的，所以到最後 你什麼都沒得吃。

a random diet club

that would randomly eliminate a food from my diet each week.

(笑聲)

隨機紋身生成器、

(Laughter)

一個隨機的 Spotify 播放列表、

And it's cumulative, so eventually you just can't eat.

隨機的 Podcast 和

一種印表機，可以印出 隨機建議要做的事情。

(Laughter)

Random tattoo generator,

(笑聲)

a random Spotify playlist,

一個隨機的臉書活動生成器。

random podcast,

運作的方式是這樣的，

a printer that prints out random suggestions of things to do.

在像維也納這樣的城市裏， 每天會有上百個臉書活動，

(Laughter)

A random Facebook event generator.

正在公開進行。

And the way that this one works

程式會隨機選擇一個活動，

這就是你今晚的活動。

is that in a city like Vienna on a given day,

所以我去了－－

there are hundreds of Facebook events --

(笑聲)

public Facebook events -- that are going on.

So it would choose one at random and say,

this is your plan for tonight.

所以我去參加了喬的生日、

And so I ended up showing --

(Laughter)

八年級樂隊演奏會、 國際象棋俱樂部、卡車司機學校。

And so I'd show up at events like Joe's birthday,

這非常的有趣，

因為這些是我一無所知的團體

the eighth grade band recital, chess club, truck drivers school.

正在舉辦令人驚奇的活動，

談論著他們關心的事情。

And it was really interesting

我就在那裡。

because these were communities that I knew nothing about

but were having amazing events

過了一陣子，

我有機會將我的工作轉成自由業者，

to talk about things that they cared about.

And there I was.

因此我的居住地有了更大的彈性。

After a while,

於是我決定，

I had the opportunity to transition my work into freelance,

也許可以讓電腦選定

which gave me a lot more flexibility about where I lived.

我要住的地方?

因此，我寫了一個程式，

And so I decided,

讓它找出所有我可以居住的城市，

you know, what if I could let the computer decide

在我的預算範圍內

what part of the world I lived in?

隨機地選一個地方來住。

And so I wrote a program that figured out

我開始了這樣的生活，

這個程式把我送到世界各地。

every city that it was possible for me to live in,

台灣的台北、

given my budget,

and then chose one at random.

印度的孟買、杜拜，

And I started living this way

一些甚至對於美國人來說 也算很偏僻的地方，

and it sent me all over the world.

像是德國的埃森和 斯洛文尼亞的戈爾蒂納。

Taipei, Taiwan,

Mumbai, India, Dubai.

Even places that for an American are really off the beaten path,

每次我去到一個新的城市，

我會跟我在舊金山 做一樣的事情，

like Essen, Germany and Gortina, Slovenia.

隨機地去參加活動、認識人們。

我會在那裡住兩到三個月，

And every time I would go to a new city,

然後再次請電腦選擇下一個地點，

I would do the same sort of stuff I was doing in San Francisco,

我持續了兩年。

go to random events, meet random people.

And I'd live there for two to three months

矛盾的是，把控制權交給機器，

and then ask the computer again for the next location.

I did this for two years.

比我自己做決定時，覺得更自由。

Paradoxically, giving up control to this machine

因為我發覺

我的偏好會讓我對這世界的複雜性 和豐富性視而不見。

actually made me feel more free than when I was making choices,

because I discovered that ...

跟隨著電腦的腳步，

我更勇於跳脫舒適圈，

My preference had blinded me from the complexity

去探索一些我之前忽略的經驗，

and the richness of the world.

只因為我覺得 那些事太奇怪或不適合我。

And following the computer gave me the courage

to live outside of my comfort zone,

to discover parts of the human experience that I ignored

我後來在印度的孟買住了一陣子，

because they were too different

or not for me.

參加了很多臉書上的活動。

I ended up in Mumbai, India for a while,

有一天，電腦安排我去上瑜珈課，

and I was going to a lot of Facebook events when I was there.

我真的不擅長瑜伽，

但我還是去了。

And one day, the computer sent me to this yoga class

當我彎下身做下犬式時，

and I'm really bad at yoga,

我突然有個體悟。

but I went anyway.

我在想

I found myself descending into a downward dog

這個隨機選擇令我感到自由，

when I had a revelation.

讓我跳脫我的舒適圈。

Because I was thinking about, you know,

但它真的有多隨機？

this random stuff is really freeing,

因為這並不是我在孟買的 第一次瑜珈活動，

it's sort of putting me outside of my bubble, my comfort zone.

已經是一週中第三次了。

But really how random is it?

(笑聲)

Because this was not my first yoga event in Mumbai.

如果你仔細想想，

你能看出這模式，並不出奇

In fact, it was my third that week.

(Laughter)

因為我從中隨機選擇的列表 本來並非隨機。

And if you think about it,

it's not surprising that you see patterns like this.

一座城市裏進行的臉書活動

Because I was choosing randomly

深深受到那座城市的影響。

from a list of things that was decidedly not random.

仔細想想，每當你做一個決定，

The list of Facebook events that are happening in a city

is very influenced by the things that are going on in a city like that.

你並不是自己創出那個選項，

而是從一個列表，由他人設計好的 選項當中，做選擇。

And if you think about it, every time you make a choice,

you're not just making it on your own.

即使你做的決定是自由的，

You're selecting from a list,

a menu of choices

它難免會受到社會結構、 習俗和歷史的拘束，

that was designed by someone or something else.

And whatever freedom that you have in that choice

而對你的選擇會有所影響。

is necessarily constrained by social structures, customs and history

當初我以為這是我跳脫舒適圈的方法，

that provide the context for that selection.

超越我自己，超越我的偏好。

So initially, I thought of this as a way of getting outside of my bubble.

但最終，我開始有不一樣的想法，

我開始把它當成一種拍照的方式。

As, you know, transcending myself, my preference.

像是我在孟買的時候，

But eventually I started to think about it differently.

我參加瑜珈活動的機率會比較大。

I started to think about it as a way of taking a photograph.

但是如果我在維也納，

也許參加音樂活動的可能性就更大。

When I was in a place like Mumbai,

it was more likely that I would show up at a yoga event.

每次我在一個城市裡 隨機選事情來做時，

But if I was in Vienna,

我就是在問﹔

maybe a music event would be more likely.

Every time that I was choosing randomly in a city,

「孟買，你的特色是什麼?」

答案就會告訴我那個城市的結構

what I was doing was making an inquiry, asking,

和我與它的關係

"Mumbai, tell me what you're about."

以及它與世界其他地方的關係。

And then the answer would tell me something about the structure of that city

因此，我…

and my relationship to it

我原本準備了一個非常簡潔的結尾，

and its relationship with the rest of the world.

但是上台後，我決定 不用這個結尾，因為

And so I ...

I had, like, a really tidy ending for this previously.

我覺得 TED 演講常有個問題，

And as I was coming up here, I decided to scrap it, because ...

演講結尾簡潔有力，

所以離開現場的時候，你不用再思考，

You know, I think that, like, a problem with TED Talks often

is that they wrap up in a tidy bow

最後，你就覺得一切都沒問題。

and then you can go away without really thinking about it.

而我認為，

我們居住的世界還有很多真實難題。

You can sort of just --

It feels like everything is OK at the end.

And I think ...

而我認為，我們被演算法控制的 這個問題是很重要的難題之一。

In the world that we're living in,

there are a lot of real problems.

例如，我們正在討論

And I think that these questions of algorithmic control

臉書在美國大選的角色。

play a lot into them.

很多問題都跟演算法 控制我們生活的方式有關。

We're talking right now about the role

that Facebook had in the American election.

因此，我不知道，

There are a lot of questions

我不知道我在說什麼，

about the ways that these algorithms are controlling our lives.

我也沒有一個很清楚的結尾。

And so, I don't know,

但是我想要鼓勵你們

I don't know what I'm saying

大膽一點地去跟這些演算法互動。

and I don't have, like, a very clear conclusion.

But I would just encourage you to try to be experimental

因為如果你只做同樣的事情，

when it comes to interacting with these algorithms.

跟著你的喜好，

或是只會跟風，

Because if you just do the defaults,

就真的很容易被限制 在你可以被控制的地方。

follow your preference,

go in the direction that everything else is going,

那就這樣吧。

謝謝

(掌聲)

it's really easy to get caught in a place where you can be controlled.

And I think that's it.

Thank you.

(Applause)