2019.04.04

周四 Thursday

spiral?/'spair?l/?

v. 激增

圖片來源：視覺中國

I?can still recall my surprise when a book by evolutionary biologist Peter Lawrence entitled The Making of a Fly came to be priced on Amazon at $23,698,655.93 (plus $3.99 shipping).
我依舊能回想起當(dāng)時(shí)的驚訝，我看到進(jìn)化生物學(xué)家彼得·勞倫斯寫的一本名為《造出一只蒼蠅》的書在亞馬遜上的定價(jià)為23698655.93美元（外加3.99美元的運(yùn)費(fèi)）。

While my colleagues around the world must have become rather depressed that an academic book could achieve such a feat, the steep price was actually the result of algorithms feeding off each other and?spiralling?out of control.
一本學(xué)術(shù)著作能賣到這樣的天價(jià)，我世界各地的同事們肯定會(huì)感到抑郁，不過這個(gè)高昂的價(jià)格實(shí)際上是算法相互疊加和失控地飆升的結(jié)果。

It turns out, it wasn't just sales staff being creative: algorithms were calling the shots.
事實(shí)證明，這不是個(gè)銷售人員的創(chuàng)意：是運(yùn)算法則定的價(jià)。

This eye-catching example was spotted and corrected. But what if such algorithmic interference happens all the time, including in ways we don't even notice??
這個(gè)矚目的個(gè)例被發(fā)現(xiàn)并修正了。但是，如果這種算法干擾總是發(fā)生，并且還以我們注意不到的方式發(fā)生，那怎么辦？

If our reality is becoming increasingly constructed by algorithms, where does this leave us humans?
如果我們的世界在逐漸被算法掌控，那我們?nèi)祟愑直恢糜诤蔚兀?/div>

Our exploration led us to the conclusion that, over time, the roles of information technology and humans have been reversed.?
我們的探索得出這樣的結(jié)論：隨著時(shí)間的推移，信息技術(shù)和人類的作用已經(jīng)顛倒。

In the past, we humans used technology as a tool. Now, technology has advanced to the point where it is using and even controlling us.
過去，我們?nèi)祟惏鸭夹g(shù)當(dāng)做一種工具。而如今，技術(shù)已經(jīng)發(fā)展到在利用甚至掌控我們?nèi)祟惖牡夭健?/div>

We humans are not merely cut off from the decisions that machines are making for us but deeply affected by them in unpredictable ways.?
我們?nèi)祟惒粌H被隔絕于機(jī)器為我們所做的決定之外，而且以不可預(yù)知的方式深受這些決定的影響。

Instead of being central to the system of decisions that affects us, we are cast out in to its environment.
我們不是這些影響著我們的決定的產(chǎn)生機(jī)制的中心，而是被動(dòng)卷入其中。

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今日詞匯

spiral?/'spair?l/?

v. 激增

?

這個(gè)詞作名詞的時(shí)候表示“螺旋”：

The birds circled in a slow spiral above the house.
鳥兒們在屋子上空緩慢盤旋。

而它作動(dòng)詞的時(shí)候表示“急劇上升”：

Prices are spiralling out of control.
物價(jià)飛漲，已經(jīng)失去控制。

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