Google's disturbing vision of TOTAL data collection: Leaked video reveals a Black Mirror-style future in which technology could be used to control the behaviour of entire populations
谷歌全面收集数据的野心令人不安：外泄视频揭示了一种黑镜式的未来，科技可能被用来控制整个种群的行为
Google already knows far more about you than you may realise.
谷歌对你的了解已经远远超出你的想象。
Now, an internal Google video has leaked that provides an unnerving glimpse into how the firm could use that wealth on information to control your behaviour.
现在，谷歌内部的一个视频泄露了一段令人不安的信息，让我们了解到谷歌公司如何利用这些有价值的信息来控制我们的行为。
The video sets the scene for a Black Mirror-style future in which machines know your needs even before you do, and are able to manipulate you to follow their own agendas.
这段视频设定了一个黑镜式的未来场景，未来，机器知道你的需求，甚至在你还没做的时候，就能操纵你按照它们的的计划行事。
Google admits the video is 'disturbing', but stresses that it's simply a thought experiment.
谷歌承认视频“令人不安”，但强调这只是一个思维实验。
However, with the misuse of private data at the forefront of people's minds following Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal, the concepts outlined in the footage are likely to raise concerns.
然而，在脸书的“剑桥分析”丑闻曝光后，出于对私人数据滥用的重视，这段视频中所描述的概念可能会引起人们的关注。
The video was made two years ago by Nick Foster, the head of design at X and a co-founder of the Near Future Laboratory.
这段视频是两年前由 Nick Foster拍摄的，他是X公司的设计主管，也是近未来实验室的联合创始人。
In it, he imagines being able to nudge users towards their goals using data collected on their devices.
在这一过程中，他设想能够利用设备上收集到的数据推动用户实现自己的目标。
Titled 'The Selfish Ledger', the 9-minute film begins with a history of Lamarckian epigenetics.
这个长达 9 分钟的视频名为《The Selfish Ledger》，以拉马克表观遗传学的历史开场。
This is the concept of passing on traits acquired during an organism's lifetime.
这是关于有机体一生中获得的特征传递的概念。
It originated in 1809, when French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck published the first theory for evolution.
它起源于1809年，当时法国自然学家Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck发表了关于进化论的第一个理论。。
He believed that the experiences of an organism during its life modified this internal code, and this updated version was then passed down to an organism's offspring.
他认为，生物体在其生命过程中的这些经历改变了这一内部代码，而这个更新的版本则被传给了有机体的后代。
For example, this theory claims that if a person regularly went to the gym and developed big muscles, their children would inherit this enhanced strength.
例如，这个理论称，如果一个人经常去健身房锻炼大肌肉群，他的孩子就会继承这种增强的力量。
This was later proven to be false, as Foster acknowledges in the video.
Foster在视频中承认，这一理论后来被证明是错误的。
Lamarckian epigenetics was discredited and replaced by Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection when he published the 'Origin of Species' in 1859.
在1859年达尔文发表《物种起源》时，拉马克的表观遗传学被其自然选择理论所推翻。
However, Foster claims it is a good analogue for the use of data and can help explain how digital information will be used in the future.
然而，Foster说，这是一个对数据使用的很好的模拟，可以帮助解释未来将如何使用数字信息。
The way we use our phones creates 'a constantly evolving representation of who we are,' which Foster terms a 'ledger'.
我们使用手机的方式创造了“一个不断变化的我们是谁的代表”， Foster称其为“数据账本”。
Ledgers can be transferred from one user to another, much like genetic information is passed on through the generations.
数据账本可以从一个用户转移到另一个用户，就像遗传信息通过几代人传递一样。
They contain detailed data on our 'actions, decisions, preferences, movement, and relationships'.
它们包含了关于我们“行动、决定、偏好、运动和社交”的详细数据。
This can be used to control our behaviour for the betterment of society.
这可以用来控制我们的行为以改善社会。
'User-cantered design principles have dominated the world of computing for many decades, but what if we looked at things a little differently?' says Foster.
几十年来，以用户为中心的设计原则主导了计算机领域，但如果我们以稍微不同的方式去看待事物，会怎样呢?”Foster说。
'What if the ledger could be given a volition or purpose rather than simply acting as a historical reference?
“如果数据账本可以被赋予意志或目的，而不是简单地作为历史参考，会怎么样?
'What if we focused on creating a richer ledger by introducing more sources of information?
如果我们专注于通过引入更多的信息来源来创建更丰富的数据账本，会怎么样呢?
'What if we thought of ourselves not as the owners of this information, but as custodians, transient carriers, or caretakers?'
“如果我们不把自己视为信息的所有者，而是作为托管人、临时承运人或看护人呢?”
The video goes on to present the concept of 'Resolutions by Google' in which the firm asks users to select goals in life and then helps them achieve it by guiding their actions using alerts on their phones.
该视频继续展示了“谷歌决议”的概念，要求用户选择生活中的目标，然后通过使用手机上的提醒来引导用户实现目标。
For instance, if a user wanted to be more environmentally-friendly, Google would help direct them to better sources of local produce that help save the planet during their weekly shopping trips.
例如，如果用户想要更环保一些，谷歌会帮助他们更好地获取当地产品的资源，帮助他们在每周的购物中为拯救地球出份力。
The video sets the scene for a Black Mirror-style future. In the episode 'Nosedive' technology is used to rate a person, creating a score for all to see. People went to extreme lengths to increase this score, changing their behaviour in line with the technology.
这段视频设定了一个黑镜式的未来场景。在“Nosedive”这一段里，科技会产生一个所有人都能看到的分数，来评价一个人。为了提高这个分数，人们竭尽全力来改变自己的行为。
The video fails to mention privacy concerns.
视频没有提到隐私问题。
Instead, Foster envisions a future where 'the notion of a goal-driven ledger becomes more palatable' and 'suggestions may be converted not by the user but by the ledger itself.'
相反，Foster设想了一个未来，“目标驱动数据账本的概念变得更容易接受”，“建议可能不是由用户而是由数据账本本身来转换的”。
The ledger wouldn't just help control behaviour, however.
然而，数据账本不仅仅有助于控制行为。
It would be able to 'plug gaps in its knowledge and refine its model of human behaviour'.
它将能够“填补知识的空白，完善其人类行为模式”。
'By thinking of user data as multigenerational,' explains Foster, 'it becomes possible for emerging users to benefit from the preceding generation's behaviours and decisions.'
Foster解释说，“将用户数据视为多代性的数据，新兴用户可能会受益于前一代人的行为和决策。
Foster imagines 'sequencing' the database like the human genome, and making 'increasingly accurate predictions about decisions and future behaviours.'
Foster设想，像人类基因组一样给数据库测序，并对决策和未来行为做出越来越准确的预测。
'As cycles of collection and comparison extend,' concludes Foster, 'it may be possible to develop a species-level understanding of complex issues such as depression, health, and poverty.'
Fostert说，“随着收集和比较的周期延长，我们可能会对诸如抑郁、健康和贫困等复杂问题有一个物种层面的理解。”
'We understand if this is disturbing - it is designed to be,' an X spokesperson told the Verge.
X实验室的一位发言人告诉《the Verge》，“我们理解这可能令人不安——但这是设想出来的。
'This is a thought-experiment by the Design team from years ago that uses a technique known as speculative design to explore uncomfortable ideas and concepts in order to provoke discussion and debate.
这是设计团队多年前的一个思想实验，他们使用一种被称为投机设计的手法来探索令人不安的想法和概念，以引发大家的讨论和辩论。”
'It's not related to any current or future products.'
这与目前或未来的任何产品都没有关系。
微信关注“世界播”，天下大事尽在掌握！中英双语呈现，还可以加强英语学习哦！
这事你怎么看？欢迎留言探讨！
閱讀更多 世界播live 的文章
