美国国家公共电台 NPR Facebook Wants Great Power, But What About Responsibility?

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

It is the era of social media, when we distill¹ our innermost thoughts and feelings into short pithy² updates and tweets. Which is why it was striking when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently wrote a nearly 6,000-word essay about his company and its value in the world. It is a sweeping³ vision. And here to talk with us about it is NPR's Aarti Shahani. Hi, Aarti.

AARTI SHAHANI, BYLINE⁴: Hi.

MARTIN: What's in this essay, and why is it getting so much attention?

SHAHANI: (Laughter) Well, the official title is "Building Global Community." And what Zuckerberg lays out is that people need to connect to each other quickly in local communities, across countries. And Facebook should basically be both the biggest, most comprehensive Yellow Pages ever seen on earth. And it should be the phone, email, direct message and/or group announcement tool you use all rolled into one. He writes that going forward he wants to measure Facebook's progress in part based on meaningful groups, so not just how many active users there are but how much they're using Facebook to do their work.

And, you know, one thing I will note is that in terms of tone, it's very hopeful and really speaks to people who want global citizenship⁵, you know, a borderless world. He's not a politician per se, but this conversation about globalization versus⁶ stronger borders is very much part of the political debate right now.

MARTIN: OK. So that sounds nice and altruistic⁷ to some degree, but what are you reading between the lines here?

SHAHANI: (Laughter) There is so much to read between the lines. I mean, at its core what Zuckerberg is not spelling out but is the obvious implication is, hey, everyone, I know the internet's supposed to be this open thing with freedom and real competition, which of course puts a check on power. But Facebook is really convenient, and we want you to step into our walled garden where a handful of company chieftains set the rules and live your social economic and religious lives inside it.

MARTIN: Yeah.

SHAHANI: So just, you know, come in and trust us.

MARTIN: So there is that old saying with great power comes great responsibility. Any inkling that Zuckerberg gets that, that he's thinking through what it means to be Facebook as he has articulated the great sweeping altruistic power in light of all the criticism Facebook has gotten for how it's handled things like fake news?

SHAHANI: You know, no, he really doesn't speak to that. And I actually asked the company about that specifically. And the PR rep just sent me the press release again, which is a non-answer. You know, I'd say there are two industries that already illustrate⁸ the dangers of over trusting Facebook.

You know, for one, there's the news industry. And I've spoken with news leaders at different outlets⁹ who feel disappointed that Facebook's done so little to help users distinguish between news sources. You know, in the physical paper days you'd see clearly on the news stand what's The New York Times versus what's the National Enquirer¹⁰. You know, on Facebook it's all blurred¹¹ visually, which is great for making stuff viral but not for sorting out well-reported content from fluff or even falsehoods.

The other industry - and I'd say they deserve a lot more attention than they've gotten - is small advertisers, people who are trying to use Facebook to promote businesses or brands and already find, hey, this company takes my money, changes the rules a lot, and I feel like I've invested in a platform that may not be good for me after all.

MARTIN: So how's this going down? How's this so-called manifesto¹² being received?

SHAHANI: (Laughter) There's a range of reactions. Some people have noted¹³ Zuckerberg is really evolving and being a politician for his digital state. And on his Facebook page, there's also, you know, a lot of praise, people who like that there's a leader out there spelling out a positive vision for how we can break down barriers, you know, in a world that feels like there are a whole lot of barriers right now. So really there's a range of reaction to it, you know, as you would expect.

MARTIN: I like the walled garden metaphor¹⁴, Aarti, I got to say. NPR's technology reporter Aarti Shahani. Thanks so much, Aarti.

SHAHANI: Thank you.

1 distill   

vt.蒸馏，用蒸馏法提取，吸取，提炼

参考例句：

• This standard set determine the method of petroleum products distill.本标准规定了测定石油产品蒸馏的方法。
• Distill the crucial points of the book.从书中提炼出关键的几点。

2 pithy   

adj.(讲话或文章)简练的

参考例句：

• Many of them made a point of praising the film's pithy dialogue.他们中很多人特别赞扬了影片精炼的对白。
• His pithy comments knocked the bottom out of my argument.他精辟的评论驳倒了我的论点。

3 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

6 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

7 altruistic   

adj.无私的，为他人着想的

参考例句：

• It is superficial to be altruistic without feeling compassion.无慈悲之心却说利他，是为表面。
• Altruistic spirit should be cultivated by us vigorously.利他的精神是我们应该努力培养的。

8 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

9 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 enquirer   

寻问者，追究者

参考例句：

• The "National Enquirer" blazoned forth that we astronomers had really discovered another civilization. 《国民询问者》甚至宣称，我们天文学家已真正发现了其它星球上的文明。
• Should we believe a publication like the national enquirer? 我们要相信像《国家探秘者》之类的出版物吗？

11 blurred   

v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离

参考例句：

• She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
• Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 manifesto   

n.宣言，声明

参考例句：

• I was involved in the preparation of Labour's manifesto.我参与了工党宣言的起草工作。
• His manifesto promised measures to protect them.他在宣言里保证要为他们采取保护措施。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。