前言：因本人的工作涉及到區塊鏈領域，平時也會看些海外的文章，所以我這邊也會做些關於區塊鏈的科普和翻譯，我會帶上原文和翻譯版本，歡迎各位糾正！想練好英語的同學，也可以嘗試這種方式啊
我是正文的分割線
Blockchain’s Adoption Challenge Is A Human Problem, Not Technical
標題：區塊鏈應用的挑戰來自於人性而非技術
Maja Vujinovic, a member of CoinDesk’s advisory board, is the CEO of OGroup LLC and a former Chief Innovation Officer of Emerging Tech & Future of Work at General Electric.
本文作者Maja Vujinovic是CoinDesk諮詢顧問成員，同時也是OGroup LLC CEO，曾任通用電氣首席創新官
The following article originally appeared in Consensus Magazine, distributed exclusively to attendees of CoinDesk’s Consensus 2019 event.
這篇文章最早發表於《共識》雜誌，由2019年CoinDesk共識大會獨家轉載，以饗參與此次共識大會的用戶。
As technology infiltrates our lives, a fundamental conflict is emerging in society, one brought on by two, intertwined forces. First, our existence is framed by a never-ending race for efficiency and productivity, or in the case of the crypto community, for the perfect model, for perfect consensus. But this clashes with the human search for a purpose and meaning, whose discoveries often invalidate applications of technology that otherwise seem perfect on paper.
隨著科技對日常生活的滲透，兩種相互交織的力量帶來的一個基本衝突正在凸顯出來。即是，對效率和生產力永無止盡的追求引導者人類，而對加密貨幣社區來說，完美的模型和共識塑造了它。但這與人類苦苦追尋的目的和意義相悖，因為人們發現理論中完美的科技在實踐中卻站不住腳。
It’s in this context that the broad concept of “blockchain” matters. Since my very first encounter with it in 2011, and over the course of my experience as an investor, entrepreneur and corporate executive in this space, I have come to this realization: blockchain is not a technology. In isolation, as a model, it will not be the solution to all our problems as propagated by innumerable hyped-up articles. “Blockchain” as a concept has the potential to be extraordinarily powerful if and only if, we as a society are willing to change our own direction and purpose.
正是在這種背景下，“區塊鏈”這個寬泛的概念很重要。自2011年接觸區塊鏈以來，我一直都以投資人、企業家和企業核心高管的身份參與到這個行業，結合以往的經歷，我逐漸意識到：區塊鏈並非一種技術。撇開其他來說，作為一個模型，它並非如無數炒作文章宣傳的那樣，可以解決我們所有的問題。除非，我們身處的社會願意改變自己的方向和目的，否則就無法挖掘區塊鏈的巨大潛力。
The core characteristics of blockchain, with its intent to generate an ostensibly immutable record of history, a commonly shared “truth,” offer us a fresh opportunity to re-think and re-design our behavior, to organize our decision-making and to reach the heart of our existence. It forces transparency while highlighting human inefficiencies, bringing to light our propensity to deceive in order to usurp power. And it highlights that it is we, the humans in the middle, who stand as the principle obstacles to our efforts to build the best version of our societies, our companies and our world.
區塊鏈的核心特點就是它不可篡改，人們共享一個共同的“事實”，它為我們提供了一個重新思考並設計我們行為、組織決策和觸及我們生存核心的新機會。區塊鏈在展示人類效率低下的同時，也迫使人們提高透明度，它讓我們意識到人類為了篡權而去欺騙的本性。同時，它也強調，正是我們這樣的中間人士，在我們努力構建更美好企業、社會和世界過程中，卻又成為了一種阻礙。
In short, the principles that underpin blockchain point to a potential resolution of the conflict that technological change imposes on our search for meaning. The irony is that if that potential is to be realized, we must also embark on some deep soul-searching and enact change from within.
總而言之，支撐區塊鏈的原則為技術發展給人類追尋意義道路上製造的衝突帶來一個潛在的解決方案。具有諷刺意味的是，如果要實現這種潛在的解決方案，我們必須進行一個深刻的自我反省，並從內部進行改革。
The real obstacle – a megalomaniac culture
真正的障礙——一個誇大的文化
One can be forgiven for concluding that those with the power to organize modern society have imbued it with a kind of melancholy meaninglessness. We take on jobs that do little else but shuffle papers, or we move financial line items from one place to another, often without adding any productivity or positive outcomes.
我覺得那種認為社會的統治者給現代社會注入了一種悲觀且無意義觀念的觀點是可以理解的。因為我們從事的工作，除了不停地搬運文字，或者進行資金流轉之外，幾乎沒有什麼作用，也沒有提升生產力或者帶來積極的成果。
We complicate things, we create charts and models and presentations to uphold our smarts, our egos and most importantly, our power. Having lived and worked in 14 different places around the world, I can vouch for the fact that this power-driven structure, a system that thrives on fear, is universal. Human society itself needs to change before technologies and new ideas can have a meaningful impact we seek.
人們喜歡把事情複雜化，並且通過創建圖表、模型和演示來展現自己的智慧和自負，最重要的是可以彰顯自己的權力。以我曾在世界14個不同的地方生活工作的經驗來說，這個世界是靠權力驅動，靠恐懼統治。人類若想讓技術和思想產生我們所尋求的那種正面影響，必須進行變革。
Without that, “blockchain” will be nothing but a buzzword.
若非如此，區塊鏈除了是個流行此外，毫無意義。
We’re all aware of the resistance to innovation that exists within companies and other organizations, but we tend to describe it in clinical, structural terms and so miss the bigger picture. We need to go deeper.
我們都意識到公司和其他組織對創新的抵制，但我們傾向於用臨床的、結構性的術語來描述創新，因此忽略了更宏觀的情況。我們需要更進一步。
We must address the underlying fears that guard against meaningful change. Unless we stop being avaricious, this hype of “blockchain” will only have random impact in random places. We will be back to “shuffling,” and this time not of paper but of exabytes and exabytes of data controlled and manipulated by an exclusive few.
我們必須消除反對我們進行有意義變革的潛在威脅。除非我們停止貪婪，否則“區塊鏈”所能產生的影響只能是偶然場景下的偶然影響。我們將會回到“洗牌”搬運文字的無聊時刻，那時將不再是紙上談兵了，而是會變成由少數人控制大量數據的時代。
A human problem, not a technological one
人性問題，而非技術
The limits to blockchain realizing its potential are typically described by computer scientists in terms of the “scaling problem:” that it is too costly to amass the massive amount of computational power needed to replicate the processing of all the world’s
transactions “on chain” across multiple nodes. This is indeed a problem, but it’s one that some very smart people are striving to overcome.
計算機科學家認為限制區塊鏈發展的主要原因是擴容，因為要獲得足夠多電腦計算力，並通過幾個節點去處理這個世界上所有的鏈上交易實在太過昂貴。這確實是需要解決的一個問題，不過好在一些有才華的人正在著手尋找解決方案。
I believe a far greater obstacle to blockchain’s success lies in our collective lack of imagination and in a generalized unwillingness to create models that do not feed into the current capitalist system. The success or otherwise of blockchain solutions is too often framed in terms of the quarterly results expected by shareholders and by a blind adherence to the incumbent mode of operation.
我認為，阻礙區塊鏈進步的最大障礙是我們集體缺乏創造力，而且也不願意做出改變去創造一個可以反哺當前資本主義的經濟體系。區塊鏈解決方案的成功與否，往往取決於股東對業績的預期以及對現有運行模式的盲目堅持。
All of that puts a block on true innovation.
所有的這些都阻礙了區塊鏈迸發出真正的創新。
A small example: When I was at GE, we explored ways to better utilize the large amounts of electricity that’s generated when the aviation division conducts legally mandated test of its customers’ engines. Most of that electricity is grounded and left unused. So, we proposed using that excess power to mine cryptocurrencies as an alternative means of financing the aviation division. The CEO of that division nixed the idea. It was too much of a change.
舉個例子：我在通用電氣時，曾和同事們一起探索如何更好地利用航空部門在對客戶發電機進行發定時產生的大量電能，因為大部分電力是接地電力，沒有得到合理的利用。所以，我就提議是否可以用這個過剩的電力去挖礦，從而為航空部門融得一定的資金。但是當時的CEO拒絕了我這個想法，認為它的變數太多。
This resistance to change is not just present in the corporate culture of established incumbents. After leaving GE, I entered the startup crypto world, and there I found that similar barriers to open, peer-to-peer collaboration exist within crypto developer communities.
保守或者說對新事物變化的牴觸不僅僅是傳統企業的現象。後來我離開通用電氣，加入到了加密領域的初創公司中，那時我發現加密社區的開發人員在開放和點對點協作方面，也存在類似的問題。
Power, competition and profit motives create these barriers and lead to a waste of resources, ideas and time. The central issue of self-interest results in a duplication of work. Ten different companies will tackle the same problem, each developing their own
“best versions of blockchain.” They compete for dominance when a collaborative approach could better solve the problem at hand.
權力、競爭和利益造成了這些障礙，並導致了資源、創意和時間的浪費。利己主義導致重複工作。因為十個不同的公司都在解決同一問題，各自開發自己認為的“最佳版本的區塊鏈”。而當協作可以解決當前問題時，他們反而更加激烈地爭奪主導地位。
Technology is not the obstacle here. If blockchain is to scale to the point where it can be relevant to the existing economy, then, we also need to change the mindset and motives that drive the crypto startup community. Harnessing the potential of blockchain is not technology problem, but a human one.
在這裡，技術不是障礙。如果區塊鏈滲透到經濟領域，那麼我們就需要改變驅動加密領域初創企業社區的思維方式和動機。利用區塊鏈的潛力和技術無關，和人有關。
Solution – a radical shift in ideology
解決方案：徹底轉變意識形態
All is not lost, though.
不過，一切並未太晚。
There is a demand for change swelling in the general public, one to which all organizations, big and small, must respond. A zeitgeist against surveillance capitalism is going to demand that organizations relinquish centralized control over data and assets, re-empowering users. This will both force and enable companies to embrace aspects of decentralization. Evidence of this shift is already emerging in the rhetoric, if not yet the actions, of social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook, which are talking of promoting decentralized control of assets and identities, of privacy, and of peer-to-peer transactions.
公眾對變革的要求日益高漲，所有大大小小的組織都需要對此作出反應。反對監控資本主義的社會趨勢要求企業放棄對數據和資產的集中控制，重新賦權於用戶。這將迫使企業下放權力。有跡象表明，像Twitter和Facebook這些社交媒體公司正在採取行動，以減少對用戶資產、身份、隱私以及點對點交易的控制。
The right to privacy is a basic human right. We are the creators of data that is exploited and owned by corporate giants and the government. In the next generation of the Internet, we need to shift power from these centralized systems to we who reside at their edges, so that we protect our data and self-monetize the assets that arise from it. Blockchain potentially has a role to play in this, but only if its own ego-driven fiefdoms can step aside and collectively work on standards and systems that are in the common good.
隱私權是人類基本的權力。大公司和政府利用和擁有的數據是由我們這些用戶產生的。在下一代互聯網中，我們需要將這些集中式的權力系統地轉移到處於邊緣的我們手中，以便保護我們的數據隱私，並使其產生的自我變現。區塊鏈可以達到這樣的目的，但前提是我們可以撇開那種因自負驅動的封建主義，然後共同追求共同利益的標準和系統。
We need to foster the development of a systemized collaborative community to bring about the change we need. What does that look like in practice? It means we must create pan-company consortia to develop reliable standards and scaling solutions that aren’t hijacked by special interests inside either corporate incumbents or dominant crypto startups.
我們需要促進系統寫作社區的發展，以實現我們想要的變革。在實踐中它什麼樣的呢？它意味著我們必須創建一個泛公司聯盟，以便共同開發一個可信賴和擴容的解決方案，而這個方案不受加密貨幣領域現有企業和初創公司內部特殊利益的裹挾。
It means we must define a role for government and civil society in setting the right legal and self-regulatory framework within which blockchain technology can develop in the common interest. It means educational programs to enable thought-leaders and doers who demonstrate an openness and willingness to utilize this technology in creative solutions with a real purpose. And it means exercising agility, not only in the workspace but also in our mindsets – to continuously bend, and not break.
這意味著，在制定一個可以讓區塊鏈技術為共同利益發展的法律和自律框架時，我們必須為政府和公民社會定義其在此中應扮演的角色。這意味著，教育系統可以讓思想領袖和實踐者更加表現出開放性，並且願意真正有創造性地解決方案中，利用這些技術。這意味著不僅在工作中，而且在我們的思維模式中，也可以持續地不受限制，靈活應用。
It is our responsibility to inspire this ideological change, to break free of models that optimize only to the demands of the existing capitalist system, It’s difficult, but it’s doable.
我們有責任去促進這種意識形態的變化，而不僅僅是要求優化現有資本主義制度，儘管這樣很困難，但卻是可行的道路。
