最近幾周,,馬克·扎克伯格和微軟(Microsoft)的薩蒂亞·納德拉大張旗鼓地宣布,元宇宙將為人際聯(lián)系的匱乏問題提供一劑解藥,。也許我是個(gè)守舊的人,,但通過卡通化身與他人互動(dòng),著實(shí)超出了我對(duì)建立有意義的人際聯(lián)系的理解,。
事實(shí)上,,鑒于這些卡通化身只具備有限的情感表達(dá)能力,而且沒有證據(jù)顯示它們能夠進(jìn)行微妙的非語言交流,,我認(rèn)為這是朝著人際關(guān)系的非人性化邁出的又一步,。
Facebook和微軟不約而同地選擇這個(gè)時(shí)機(jī)進(jìn)軍元宇宙。他們不但想成為這個(gè)虛擬空間的主要房東,,還想成為新社會(huì)秩序的締造者,。不同于以往的突破性創(chuàng)新,我們正在接到一個(gè)非常公開的通知:另一個(gè)范式轉(zhuǎn)變即將到來——或者至少被告知,,一些世界上最強(qiáng)大的公司正在努力使其成為現(xiàn)實(shí),。只有足夠多的人接納這個(gè)虛擬空間,他們才有望成功,。
虛擬世界
現(xiàn)在是時(shí)候認(rèn)真討論一下元宇宙了,。幾乎沒有哪種技術(shù)完美無缺,,也沒有哪種技術(shù)一無是處。我們現(xiàn)在必須嘗試構(gòu)想一下元宇宙可能帶來的利弊,。
很明顯,,這就是科技巨頭們多年來一直在展望的人類發(fā)展方向:進(jìn)駐一個(gè)虛擬世界,在那里我們通過自己的化身來工作,、學(xué)習(xí)和娛樂,。事實(shí)上,就在扎克伯格剛剛將Facebook更名為Meta,,并提出他對(duì)未來的愿景之后,,薩蒂亞·納德拉就立即行動(dòng)起來,竭力讓我們知道,,微軟將在數(shù)字世界的此輪擴(kuò)張中發(fā)揮主導(dǎo)作用,。
元宇宙的概念最初浮現(xiàn)在小說中,比如首次提出這個(gè)術(shù)語的科幻小說《雪崩》(Snow Crash),,以及2011年出版的小說《頭號(hào)玩家》(Ready Player One),。2003年,受《雪崩》啟發(fā),,軟件開發(fā)人員創(chuàng)建了在線游戲《第二人生》(Second Life),。任何人都可以通過它為自己創(chuàng)建一個(gè)卡通化身,并在各種虛擬空間與他人互動(dòng),。借助最近的應(yīng)用,,人們能夠在虛擬空間中以化身的身份參加會(huì)議或其他在線活動(dòng)。
事后看來,,我們有意或無意地錯(cuò)過了一個(gè)機(jī)會(huì),,沒有足夠深入或富有想象力地思考社交媒體平臺(tái)可能帶來的負(fù)面影響。倘若我們?cè)?0年或20年前就預(yù)見到社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)將撕裂社會(huì),,助推錯(cuò)誤信息的傳播,,我們是否會(huì)采用不同的應(yīng)對(duì)方式?我希望如此,。
就像社交媒體平臺(tái)一樣,元宇宙也有其積極面,??梢韵胂蟮氖牵钪鎸O大地豐富教育和娛樂,,并通過參與新的數(shù)字公共廣場(chǎng)來改善民主,。
潛在的負(fù)面影響?數(shù)據(jù)是一個(gè)顯而易見的問題,。社交媒體時(shí)代的故事一直是,,我們放棄了越來越多關(guān)于我們自己和我們生活的數(shù)據(jù),,這使得服務(wù)提供商對(duì)我們有了更深入的了解,從而能夠更好地操縱我們的注意力和欲望,。
元宇宙將使得Facebook這樣的公司獲得前所未有的用戶數(shù)據(jù),。有了這些海量數(shù)據(jù),我們作為產(chǎn)品的地位將為第三方帶來巨大的價(jià)值,。如果我們選擇戴上耳機(jī)和觸覺手套,,他們會(huì)非常詳細(xì)地了解我們的身體動(dòng)作、情緒狀態(tài),,以及像心跳和體溫變化這類生物數(shù)據(jù),。
這是否會(huì)顯著增強(qiáng)平臺(tái)公司出于政治或經(jīng)濟(jì)目的,操縱用戶注意力和行為的能力,?我沒有確切的答案,,但對(duì)于這種倫理問題,我們必須悉心調(diào)查,,并深入討論,。
一種“更人性化的聯(lián)系”?
更深入地說,,我們應(yīng)該撫心自問,,我們認(rèn)為有多少人際交往體驗(yàn)可以簡(jiǎn)化為網(wǎng)絡(luò)信息流。扎克伯格談到,,F(xiàn)acebook要提供“最重要的體驗(yàn):與人聯(lián)系”,。納德拉宣稱,微軟“致力于創(chuàng)造更多的存在感,,更多的人際聯(lián)系,。”他們這么說并不意味著事實(shí)就是如此,。
就在許多人對(duì)遠(yuǎn)程工作心生厭倦的時(shí)候,,這些宣傳應(yīng)運(yùn)而生,這并非巧合,。與Zoom或微軟的Teams相比,,元宇宙的新奇感可能確實(shí)讓人覺得難以抗拒,并且更加完整,,至少在最初是這樣,。但我們其實(shí)應(yīng)該把這種體驗(yàn)與親自見面進(jìn)行比較。
我最近第一次見到了在疫情期間與我密切合作的一位同事,。就很多方面而言,,我已經(jīng)很了解這個(gè)人,但見到他本人時(shí),我覺得自己正在通過一個(gè)全新的維度來了解他,。有些人可能會(huì)使用“精神 ”或 “靈魂 ”等不合時(shí)宜的詞語,。這段經(jīng)歷提醒我,人際交往中有很大一部分是通過手勢(shì),、無意識(shí)的暗示,,以及真實(shí)會(huì)面完成的。我們有多確定這一切都能被一件觸覺服捕捉到,,并通過5G網(wǎng)絡(luò)的帶寬進(jìn)行傳遞,?
換句話說,元宇宙生活將進(jìn)一步削弱人類相互聯(lián)系的能力,,并使得人際關(guān)系失去個(gè)性和人味,。
也許最終實(shí)現(xiàn)的元宇宙愿景,會(huì)讓最初的犧牲顯得很值得,。但根據(jù)迄今為止的經(jīng)驗(yàn),,我們需要確保我們不會(huì)稀里糊涂地進(jìn)入這個(gè)全新的物理—虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)。否則,,終有一天,,我們可能會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己生活在一個(gè)扭曲的虛擬世界中——這個(gè)世界是由那些把我們視為產(chǎn)品的軟件設(shè)計(jì)師創(chuàng)造的,并由一心只顧著賺大錢的科技巨頭強(qiáng)塞給我們——卻不知道自己什么時(shí)候被咨詢過,。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
本文作者溫德爾·沃拉赫是卡內(nèi)基國際事務(wù)倫理委員會(huì)(Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs)卡內(nèi)基—上廣研究員,,卡內(nèi)基人工智能和平等倡議(AIEI)聯(lián)席主管。該倡議旨在解析人工智能影響平等的種種方式,,并據(jù)此提出一系列潛在機(jī)制,,以確保人工智能造福所有人。他的最新著作是《危險(xiǎn)的主人:如何防范技術(shù)擺脫人類的掌控》(A Dangerous Master: How to Keep Technology From Slipping Beyond Our Control),。
譯者:任文科
最近幾周,,馬克·扎克伯格和微軟(Microsoft)的薩蒂亞·納德拉大張旗鼓地宣布,元宇宙將為人際聯(lián)系的匱乏問題提供一劑解藥,。也許我是個(gè)守舊的人,,但通過卡通化身與他人互動(dòng),著實(shí)超出了我對(duì)建立有意義的人際聯(lián)系的理解,。
事實(shí)上,,鑒于這些卡通化身只具備有限的情感表達(dá)能力,而且沒有證據(jù)顯示它們能夠進(jìn)行微妙的非語言交流,,我認(rèn)為這是朝著人際關(guān)系的非人性化邁出的又一步,。
Facebook和微軟不約而同地選擇這個(gè)時(shí)機(jī)進(jìn)軍元宇宙。他們不但想成為這個(gè)虛擬空間的主要房東,,還想成為新社會(huì)秩序的締造者。不同于以往的突破性創(chuàng)新,我們正在接到一個(gè)非常公開的通知:另一個(gè)范式轉(zhuǎn)變即將到來——或者至少被告知,,一些世界上最強(qiáng)大的公司正在努力使其成為現(xiàn)實(shí),。只有足夠多的人接納這個(gè)虛擬空間,他們才有望成功,。
虛擬世界
現(xiàn)在是時(shí)候認(rèn)真討論一下元宇宙了,。幾乎沒有哪種技術(shù)完美無缺,也沒有哪種技術(shù)一無是處,。我們現(xiàn)在必須嘗試構(gòu)想一下元宇宙可能帶來的利弊,。
很明顯,這就是科技巨頭們多年來一直在展望的人類發(fā)展方向:進(jìn)駐一個(gè)虛擬世界,,在那里我們通過自己的化身來工作,、學(xué)習(xí)和娛樂。事實(shí)上,,就在扎克伯格剛剛將Facebook更名為Meta,,并提出他對(duì)未來的愿景之后,薩蒂亞·納德拉就立即行動(dòng)起來,,竭力讓我們知道,,微軟將在數(shù)字世界的此輪擴(kuò)張中發(fā)揮主導(dǎo)作用。
元宇宙的概念最初浮現(xiàn)在小說中,,比如首次提出這個(gè)術(shù)語的科幻小說《雪崩》(Snow Crash),,以及2011年出版的小說《頭號(hào)玩家》(Ready Player One)。2003年,,受《雪崩》啟發(fā),,軟件開發(fā)人員創(chuàng)建了在線游戲《第二人生》(Second Life)。任何人都可以通過它為自己創(chuàng)建一個(gè)卡通化身,,并在各種虛擬空間與他人互動(dòng),。借助最近的應(yīng)用,人們能夠在虛擬空間中以化身的身份參加會(huì)議或其他在線活動(dòng),。
事后看來,,我們有意或無意地錯(cuò)過了一個(gè)機(jī)會(huì),沒有足夠深入或富有想象力地思考社交媒體平臺(tái)可能帶來的負(fù)面影響,。倘若我們?cè)?0年或20年前就預(yù)見到社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)將撕裂社會(huì),,助推錯(cuò)誤信息的傳播,我們是否會(huì)采用不同的應(yīng)對(duì)方式,?我希望如此,。
就像社交媒體平臺(tái)一樣,元宇宙也有其積極面,??梢韵胂蟮氖?,元宇宙將極大地豐富教育和娛樂,并通過參與新的數(shù)字公共廣場(chǎng)來改善民主,。
潛在的負(fù)面影響,?數(shù)據(jù)是一個(gè)顯而易見的問題。社交媒體時(shí)代的故事一直是,,我們放棄了越來越多關(guān)于我們自己和我們生活的數(shù)據(jù),,這使得服務(wù)提供商對(duì)我們有了更深入的了解,從而能夠更好地操縱我們的注意力和欲望,。
元宇宙將使得Facebook這樣的公司獲得前所未有的用戶數(shù)據(jù),。有了這些海量數(shù)據(jù),我們作為產(chǎn)品的地位將為第三方帶來巨大的價(jià)值,。如果我們選擇戴上耳機(jī)和觸覺手套,,他們會(huì)非常詳細(xì)地了解我們的身體動(dòng)作、情緒狀態(tài),,以及像心跳和體溫變化這類生物數(shù)據(jù),。
這是否會(huì)顯著增強(qiáng)平臺(tái)公司出于政治或經(jīng)濟(jì)目的,操縱用戶注意力和行為的能力,?我沒有確切的答案,,但對(duì)于這種倫理問題,我們必須悉心調(diào)查,,并深入討論,。
一種“更人性化的聯(lián)系”?
更深入地說,,我們應(yīng)該撫心自問,,我們認(rèn)為有多少人際交往體驗(yàn)可以簡(jiǎn)化為網(wǎng)絡(luò)信息流。扎克伯格談到,,F(xiàn)acebook要提供“最重要的體驗(yàn):與人聯(lián)系”,。納德拉宣稱,微軟“致力于創(chuàng)造更多的存在感,,更多的人際聯(lián)系,。”他們這么說并不意味著事實(shí)就是如此,。
就在許多人對(duì)遠(yuǎn)程工作心生厭倦的時(shí)候,,這些宣傳應(yīng)運(yùn)而生,這并非巧合,。與Zoom或微軟的Teams相比,,元宇宙的新奇感可能確實(shí)讓人覺得難以抗拒,并且更加完整,,至少在最初是這樣,。但我們其實(shí)應(yīng)該把這種體驗(yàn)與親自見面進(jìn)行比較,。
我最近第一次見到了在疫情期間與我密切合作的一位同事。就很多方面而言,,我已經(jīng)很了解這個(gè)人,,但見到他本人時(shí),,我覺得自己正在通過一個(gè)全新的維度來了解他,。有些人可能會(huì)使用“精神 ”或 “靈魂 ”等不合時(shí)宜的詞語。這段經(jīng)歷提醒我,,人際交往中有很大一部分是通過手勢(shì),、無意識(shí)的暗示,以及真實(shí)會(huì)面完成的,。我們有多確定這一切都能被一件觸覺服捕捉到,,并通過5G網(wǎng)絡(luò)的帶寬進(jìn)行傳遞?
換句話說,,元宇宙生活將進(jìn)一步削弱人類相互聯(lián)系的能力,,并使得人際關(guān)系失去個(gè)性和人味。
也許最終實(shí)現(xiàn)的元宇宙愿景,,會(huì)讓最初的犧牲顯得很值得,。但根據(jù)迄今為止的經(jīng)驗(yàn),我們需要確保我們不會(huì)稀里糊涂地進(jìn)入這個(gè)全新的物理—虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí),。否則,,終有一天,我們可能會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己生活在一個(gè)扭曲的虛擬世界中——這個(gè)世界是由那些把我們視為產(chǎn)品的軟件設(shè)計(jì)師創(chuàng)造的,,并由一心只顧著賺大錢的科技巨頭強(qiáng)塞給我們——卻不知道自己什么時(shí)候被咨詢過,。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
本文作者溫德爾·沃拉赫是卡內(nèi)基國際事務(wù)倫理委員會(huì)(Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs)卡內(nèi)基—上廣研究員,卡內(nèi)基人工智能和平等倡議(AIEI)聯(lián)席主管,。該倡議旨在解析人工智能影響平等的種種方式,,并據(jù)此提出一系列潛在機(jī)制,以確保人工智能造福所有人,。他的最新著作是《危險(xiǎn)的主人:如何防范技術(shù)擺脫人類的掌控》(A Dangerous Master: How to Keep Technology From Slipping Beyond Our Control),。
譯者:任文科
In recent weeks, both Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella announced with great fanfare that the metaverse offers an antidote to the lack of human connection. Perhaps I’m old-fashioned, but interacting with others through cartoon avatars is not my idea of establishing meaningful connections.
Indeed, avatars with limited emotional expression and no evidence of subtle nonverbal communication appear to me to be another step toward dehumanizing interpersonal relationships.
Facebook and Microsoft have chosen this moment to set out the metaverse as a virtual realm in which they propose to be both the leading landlords and the architects of a new social order. Unlike previous groundbreaking innovations, we are being given a very public notification that another paradigm shift is imminent—or, at least, that some of the world’s most powerful corporations are working to make it so. They will succeed only if enough of us buy into it.
A virtual world
Now is the time to have a serious conversation about the metaverse. Few technologies are either all good or all bad. We must try now to envisage what the tradeoffs might be.
It has been clear for many years that this is where the tech giants see humanity heading: into a virtual world, where we work, learn, and play through avatars of ourselves. Indeed, as soon as Zuckerberg renamed Facebook to Meta, and presented his vision of the future, Satya Nadella got into the act, making sure we understood that Microsoft would be a leading player in this expansion of the digital universe.
The notion of the metaverse was initially explored in works of fiction, such as Snow Crash—which coined the term in 1992—and 2011’s Ready Player One. In 2003, software developers inspired by Snow Crash created the online Second Life through which anyone could create a cartoon avatar of themself and interact with others in a variety of virtual spaces. More recent applications have facilitated attending meetings or online events as avatars in virtual spaces.
With hindsight, we missed the opportunity, willfully or ignorantly, to think deeply or imaginatively enough about what the downsides and tradeoffs of social media platforms might be. If we had foreseen 10 or 20 years ago how social networks would fracture societies or enable misinformation, would we have approached them differently? I hope so.
Just as with social media platforms, there will be upsides to the metaverse. I can imagine it enriching education and entertainment, as well as improving democracy through participation in the new digital public square.
The potential downsides? Data is an obvious concern. The story of the social media age has been that we give up more and more data about ourselves and our lives, which enables the providers of services to know us more intimately, so they can better manipulate our attention and desires.
The metaverse will give companies like Facebook unprecedented access to additional data about us, and with it, our status as a product will gain immense value to third parties. Should we elect to don headsets and haptic gloves, they will learn in great detail about our bodily movements, emotional states, and biodata such as heartbeat and temperature changes.
How might this improve the ability to manipulate our attention and behavior for political or economic ends? I have no exact answer—but that is the kind of ethical question I would like to see investigated and debated.
A ‘more human connection’?
More deeply, we should ask ourselves just how much of the experience of human connection we believe can be reduced to the flow of information over a network. Zuckerberg talked of providing “the most important experience of all: connecting with people.” Nadella claimed Microsoft’s plans are “all about creating more presence, more human connection.” The fact that they say this does not make it so.
It’s no coincidence that these pitches are being made when many of us have become so tired of working remotely. Compared to Zoom or Microsoft’s Teams, the novelty of the metaverse might indeed feel both compelling and more complete, at least initially. But we should compare it, instead, to meeting in person.
I recently had the experience of meeting a colleague that I had worked closely with during the pandemic for the first time. I already knew this individual well in many ways, but in person, I felt like I was getting to know them through a whole new dimension. Some might use unfashionable words like “spirit” or “soul.” It was a reminder of how much we communicate to each other through gestures, unconscious cues, and our presence. How sure are we that this all can be captured by a haptic suit and conveyed over the bandwidth of a 5G network?
In other words, life in the metaverse is one more step toward diminishing, depersonalizing, and dehumanizing our ability to connect with each other.
Maybe the eventual promise of the metaverse will make initial sacrifices appear worthwhile. But based on experience to date, we need to make sure we are not walking blindly into this new physical-virtual reality. Otherwise, we may one day find ourselves living in a distorted virtual world, created by software designers who view us as products and promoted by powerful corporations to make money, wondering when we were ever consulted.
Wendell Wallach is a Carnegie-Uehiro Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. He codirects the Carnegie Artificial Intelligence and Equality Initiative (AIEI), which seeks to understand the innumerable ways in which A.I. impacts equality, and in response, proposes potential mechanisms to ensure the benefits of A.I. for all people. His latest book is A Dangerous Master: How to Keep Technology From Slipping Beyond Our Control (Basic Books).