(单词翻译:单击)
In the months following the 2009 presidential election in Iran, protests erupted across the country.
在2009年伊朗总统大选之后的数个月,抗议在该国各地爆发。
The Iranian government violently suppressed what came to be known as the Iranian Green Movement,
伊朗政府以暴力方式压制后来大家所知的伊朗绿色革命,
even blocking mobile signals to cut off communication between the protesters.
政府甚至阻挡手机信号,切断抗议者之间的通讯。
My parents, who emigrated to the United States in the late 1960s,
我父母在20世纪60年代末移民到美国,
spend substantial time there, where all of my large, extended family live.
他们很多时候都在伊朗,我非常大的大家庭成员都住在那里。
When I would call my family in Tehran during some of the most violent crackdowns of the protest,
在政府用最暴力的方式镇压抗议时,我会打电话给在德黑兰的家人,
none of them dared discuss with me what was happening.
他们通通不敢跟我讨论发生了什么事。
They or I knew to quickly steer the conversation to other topics.
他们或是我都会知道要很快地转换到其他话题。
All of us understood what the consequences could be of a perceived dissident action.
我们都了解若被认为持有不同意见,会有什么样的后果。
But I still wish I could have known what they were thinking or what they were feeling.
但我还是希望我当时能知道他们在想什么,或他们有什么感觉。
What if I could have? Or more frighteningly, what if the Iranian government could have?
如果我当初能做到呢?或者,更令人害怕的状况,如果伊朗政府当初能够做到呢?
Would they have arrested them based on what their brains revealed?
政府是否会基于他们脑中所想的就逮捕他们?
That day may be closer than you think.
那一天可能比你想象的还要近。
With our growing capabilities in neuroscience, artificial intelligence and machine learning,
我们在神经科学、人工智能以及机器学习的能力不断提升,
we may soon know a lot more of what's happening in the human brain.
我们可能很快就会知道更多人脑里头的状况。
As a bioethicist, a lawyer, a philosopher and an Iranian-American,
我是生物伦理学家、律师、哲学家,以及伊朗裔美国人,
I'm deeply concerned about what this means for our freedoms and what kinds of protections we need.
我非常在乎这项发展对于我们的自由有什么样的意涵,以及我们需要怎样的保护。
I believe we need a right to cognitive liberty, as a human right that needs to be protected.
我认为我们要有认知自由的权利,它是一种需要被保护的人权。
If not, our freedom of thought, access and control over our own brains and our mental privacy will be threatened.
如果没有保护它,我们的思想自由、对我们大脑的存取权以及控制权,还有我们的心理隐私都会受到威胁。
Consider this: the average person thinks thousands of thoughts each day.
试想看看:一般人每天会有数千个思维想法。
As a thought takes form, like a math calculation or a number, a word,
一个想法形成时,比如一项数学计算、一个数字、一个单词,
neurons are interacting in the brain, creating a miniscule electrical discharge.
神经元就会和大脑互动,产生很微小的静电放电。
When you have a dominant mental state, like relaxation, hundreds and thousands of neurons are firing in the brain,
当你有一种主动支配的精神状态,比如放松,脑中会有成千上百个神经元串接在一起,
creating concurrent electrical discharges in characteristic patterns that can be measured with electroencephalography, or EEG.
创造出依循特征模式的同时静电放电,可以用脑电图(EEG)来测量。
In fact, that's what you're seeing right now.
事实上,就是各位现在所看到的。
You're seeing my brain activity that was recorded in real time with a simple device that was worn on my head.
你们看到的是我的实时脑部活动记录,我头上只要戴着一个简单的装置即可。
What you're seeing is my brain activity when I was relaxed and curious.
你们看到的,是我放松且好奇时的脑部活动。
To share this information with you, I wore one of the early consumer-based EEG devices like this one,
为了和各位分享这些信息,我戴上了一个早期以消费者为基础的脑电图装置,就像这个,
which recorded the electrical activity in my brain in real time.
它能实时记录下我脑部的电活动。
It's not unlike the fitness trackers that some of you may be wearing to measure your heart rate or the steps that you've taken,
它并不像有些人健身戴的那种心跳追踪器,或是计步器,
or even your sleep activity. It's hardly the most sophisticated neuroimaging technique on the market.
或是睡眠活动监测器。它甚至算不上是市场上最精密的神经成像技术。
But it's already the most portable and the most likely to impact our everyday lives.
但它是最能携带的,且最可能影响我们日常生活的。
This is extraordinary. Through a simple, wearable device,
这很了不起。通过一个简单、可穿戴的装置,
we can literally see inside the human brain and learn aspects of our mental landscape without ever uttering a word.
我们就真的能看见人脑的内部,并且完全不用说话就可以知道我们的心景。
While we can't reliably decode complex thoughts just yet,
虽然我们还无法用很可靠的方式来解译复杂的思想,
we can already gauge a person's mood, and with the help of artificial intelligence,
我们已经可以测量人的心情,在人工智能的协助之下,
we can even decode some single-digit numbers or shapes or simple words that a person is thinking or hearing, or seeing.
我们甚至可以将一个人脑中在想的一位数数字、一个形状或简单的字词给解译出来,连他听见的、看见的也可以。
Despite some inherent limitations in EEG, I think it's safe to say that with our advances in technology,
尽管脑电图有一些先天的限制,我认为我们可以说,随着我们的科技进步,
more and more of what's happening in the human brain can and will be decoded over time.
会有越来越多在人脑中发生的状况,随时间都能够被解译出来。
Already, using one of these devices, an epileptic can know they're going to have an epileptic seizure before it happens.
现今,使用这种装置,癫痫症患者就可以在癫痫发作之前知道即将发作。
A paraplegic can type on a computer with their thoughts alone.
截瘫患者能够单单用他们的思想在计算机上打字。
A US-based company has developed a technology to embed these sensors into the headrest of automobilies
一间美国公司开发出了一种技术,来将这些传感器装入汽车的头枕,
so they can track driver concentration, distraction and cognitive load while driving.
他们就能追踪司机在开车时的注意力、分心以及认知负载。
Nissan, insurance companies and AAA have all taken note.
日产汽车、保险公司以及美国汽车协会都已经在关注。
You could even watch this choose-your-own-adventure movie "The Moment,"
你甚至可以观赏《时刻》这部选择你自己的冒险的电影,
which, with an EEG headset, changes the movie based on your brain-based reactions,
看的时候要戴上脑电图耳机,就能用你脑中的反应来改变电影,
giving you a different ending every time your attention wanes.
每当你的注意力降低,就会给你一个不一样的结局。
This may all sound great, and as a bioethicist,
这可能听起来很棒,身为生物伦理学家,
I am a huge proponent of empowering people to take charge of their own health and well-being
我非常支持要让人们有能力去掌控自己的健康和幸福,
by giving them access to information about themselves, including this incredible new brain-decoding technology.
而让他们取得关于自己的信息,包括用这项了不起的大脑解译新技术,就可以做到这一点。
But I worry. I worry that we will voluntarily or involuntarily give up our last bastion of freedom, our mental privacy.
但我会担心。我担心我们会自愿地或不自愿地放弃我们捍卫自由及我们心理隐私的最后保垒。
That we will trade our brain activity for rebates or discounts on insurance,
我担心我们会拿我们的大脑活动来交易,换取保险的贴现或折扣,
or free access to social-media accounts ... or even to keep our jobs.
或换取免费账号来使用社交媒体,甚至用来保有工作。
In fact, in China, the train drivers on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail,
事实上,在中国,北京上海之间的高铁,
the busiest of its kind in the world, are required to wear EEG devices to monitor their brain activity while driving.
是世界上最忙碌的高铁,开这条线的火车司机被要求要配戴脑电图装置,用来监测他们在驾驶时的大脑活动。
According to some news sources, in government-run factories in China,
根据一些新闻来源,在中国的国营工厂中,
the workers are required to wear EEG sensors to monitor their productivity and their emotional state at work.
工人被要求要配戴脑电图传感器,来监测他们的生产力以及他们工作时的情绪状态。
Workers are even sent home if their brains show less-than-stellar concentration on their jobs, or emotional agitation.
如果工人的大脑展现出他们对于工作没有做到最专注,或是呈现出情绪烦乱,他们就会被送回家。
It's not going to happen tomorrow, but we're headed to a world of brain transparency.
明天还不会发生,但我们正在朝向一个透明大脑的世界迈进。
And I don't think people understand that that could change everything.
我不觉得大家了解那会改变一切。
Everything from our definitions of data privacy to our laws, to our ideas about freedom.
一切都会变,从我们对于数据隐私的定义,到我们的法律,到我们对于自由的想法。
In fact, in my lab at Duke University,
事实上,在我的杜克大学实验室中,
we recently conducted a nationwide study in the United States to see if people appreciated the sensitivity of their brain information.
我们最近进行了一项美国全国性的研究,来看看大家是否知道他们的大脑信息有多敏感。
We asked people to rate their perceived sensitivity of 33 different kinds of information,
我们请受访者针对三十三种信息所认为的敏感度来进行评分,
from their social security numbers to the content of their phone conversations,
这些信息包括他们的身分证号、他们电话交谈的内容、
their relationship history, their emotions, their anxiety, the mental images in their mind and the thoughts in their mind.
他们过去的关系、他们的情绪、他们的焦虑、他们脑中的影像,以及他们脑中的思想。
Shockingly, people rated their social security number as far more sensitive than any other kind of information, including their brain data.
很让人惊讶的是,大家认为身分证号的敏感度远高于任何其他信息,包括他们脑中的数据。
I think this is because people don't yet understand or believe the implications of this new brain-decoding technology.
我认为这是因为大家尚未了解或还不相信这种新的大脑解译技术背后的意涵。
After all, if we can know the inner workings of the human brain, our social security numbers are the least of our worries.
毕竟,如果我们能够知道人脑内部的运作,我们的身分证号是最不用担心的了。
Think about it. In a world of total brain transparency, who would dare have a politically dissident thought? Or a creative one?
想想看。在一个大脑完全透明的世界中,谁敢有在政治上意见不同的念头?或是有创意的想法?
I worry that people will self-censor in fear of being ostracized by society,
我担心大家会因为害怕被社会排斥而做自我审查,
or that people will lose their jobs because of their waning attention or emotional instability,
或者,大家丢掉饭碗可能是因为注意力下降或是情绪不稳定,
or because they're contemplating collective action against their employers.
或是因为他们在想着要集体会抗雇主的行动。
That coming out will no longer be an option, because people's brains will long ago have revealed their sexual orientation,
出柜与否也不再是个选择,因为人脑会揭露出他们的性取向、
their political ideology or their religious preferences,
他们的政治意识形态,或是他们的宗教偏好,
well before they were ready to consciously share that information with other people.
在他们有意识地准备好和他人分享之前,大脑都先做了。
I worry about the ability of our laws to keep up with technological change.
我担心我们的法律是否能够跟上科技的改变。
Take the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects freedom of speech.
比如美国宪法第一修正案保障的是言论的自由。
Does it also protect freedom of thought?
它是否也保护思想的自由?
And if so, does that mean that we're free to alter our thoughts however we want?
如果是的话,那是否表示我们可以任意改变想法?
Or can the government or society tell us what we can do with our own brains?
或者,政府或社会是否能告诉我们能用自己的大脑做什么?
Can the NSA spy on our brains using these new mobile devices?
国家安全协会是否能用这些新的行动装置来监视我们的大脑?
Can the companies that collect the brain data through their applications sell this information to third parties?
通过应用程序收集大脑数据的公司,是否能将这些信息贩卖给第三方?
Right now, no laws prevent them from doing so.
目前,没有法律阻止他们这么做。
It could be even more problematic in countries that don't share the same freedoms enjoyed by people in the United States.
有些国家问题可能更大,如人民不像美国人能享有那种自由的那些国家。
What would've happened during the Iranian Green Movement if the government had been monitoring my family's brain activity,
在伊朗绿色革命中,如果政府能够监视我家人的大脑活动,
and had believed them to be sympathetic to the protesters?
因而认为他们同情抗议者,会发生什么事?
Is it so far-fetched to imagine a society in which people are arrested based on their thoughts of committing a crime,
真的有这么难想象这样的社会吗?人民因为他们有想要犯罪的念头而被逮捕,
like in the science-fiction dystopian society in "Minority Report."
就像是科幻电影《关键报告》中的反乌托邦社会一样。
Already, in the United States, in Indiana, an 18-year-old was charged with attempting to intimidate his school
在美国印第安纳州,已经有一位十八岁的男子被控试图威吓他的学校,
by posting a video of himself shooting people in the hallways ...
因为他张贴了一支他自己在走廊射杀他人的影片。
Except the people were zombies and the video was of him playing an augmented-reality video game,
只不过,被杀的人是僵尸,那支影片的内容其实是他在玩虚拟现实的游戏,
all interpreted to be a mental projection of his subjective intent.
这全都被解读为他主观意图的心理投射。
This is exactly why our brains need special protection.
这正是为什么我们的大脑需要特殊的保护。
If our brains are just as subject to data tracking and aggregation as our financial records and transactions,
如果我们的大脑就像我们的财务记录和交易一样,会受到数据追踪和整合,
if our brains can be hacked and tracked like our online activities, our mobile phones and applications,
如果我们的大脑能像我们的在线活动、手机及应用程序一样被黑客攻击和被追踪,
then we're on the brink of a dangerous threat to our collective humanity.
那么我们就是处于集体人性受到危险威胁的边缘。
Before you panic, I believe that there are solutions to these concerns, but we have to start by focusing on the right things.
在你们慌张之前,我相信这些担忧都有解决方案,但我们一开始就得把焦点放在对的地方。
When it comes to privacy protections in general,
就一般性的隐私保护而言,
I think we're fighting a losing battle by trying to restrict the flow of information.
我认为我们在打一场会输的仗,因为我们在试图限制信息流。
Instead, we should be focusing on securing rights and remedies against the misuse of our information.
反之,我们应该要把焦点放在保卫我们的权利并做出补救,确保我们的信息不会被滥用。
If people had the right to decide how their information was shared,
如果人民有权决定他们的信息要如何被分享,
and more importantly, have legal redress if their information was misused against them,
更重要的,要有法律补救方法,以免他们的信息被滥用来对他们不利,
say to discriminate against them in an employment setting or in health care or education,
比如在就业时,或卫生保健或教育的情境中被用来歧视他们,
this would go a long way to build trust.
要花很长的时间才能够建立信任。
In fact, in some instances, we want to be sharing more of our personal information.
事实上,在一些状况中,我们会想要分享更多的个人信息。
Studying aggregated information can tell us so much about our health and our well-being,
研究整合的信息能告诉我们许多关于我们健康和幸福的信息,
but to be able to safely share our information, we need special protections for mental privacy.
但若要安全地分享我们的信息,我们的心理隐私会需要特殊的保护。
This is why we need a right to cognitive liberty.
这就是为什么我们需要一种认知自由权。
This right would secure for us our freedom of thought and rumination, our freedom of self-determination,
这种权利能确保我们的思想和沉思自由,我们的自我决定自由,
and it would insure that we have the right to consent to or refuse access and alteration of our brains by others.
并且能保证我们有权同意或拒绝他人取得和变更我们大脑内容的权利。
This right could be recognized as part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
这种权利可以被视为是世界人权宣言的一部分,
which has established mechanisms for the enforcement of these kinds of social rights.
该宣言是在建立一些机制以强制执行这类社会权利。
During the Iranian Green Movement, the protesters used the internet and good old-fashioned word of mouth to coordinate their marches.
在伊朗绿色革命时,抗议者用网络以及传统的口耳相传,来协调他们的游行。
And some of the most oppressive restrictions in Iran were lifted as a result.
结果,伊朗政府解除了一些最压迫的限制。
But what if the Iranian government had used brain surveillance to detect and prevent the protest?
但如果伊朗政府当初使用大脑监视来侦测并预防抗议呢?
Would the world have ever heard the protesters' cries?
世界还会有机会听到抗议者的吶喊吗?
The time has come for us to call for a cognitive liberty revolution.
该是我们来进行一场认知自由革命的时候了。
To make sure that we responsibly advance technology that could enable us to embrace the future
以确保我们的科技是以负责任的方式在进步,让我们能够拥抱未来,
while fiercely protecting all of us from any person, company or government
同时强力保护我们所有人,不受到任何人、公司或政府
that attempts to unlawfully access or alter our innermost lives. Thank you.
以不合法的方式尝试取得或变更我们最内在的生活。谢谢。