2018年经济学人 驯服巨人:科技公司称霸网络(1)

 

Leaders

领导者

Taming the titans

驯服巨人

Google, Facebook and Amazon are increasingly dominant¹. How should they be controlled?

谷歌、Facebook和亚马逊的统治力越来越强。该如何控制它们？

Not long ago, being the boss of a big Western tech firm was a dream job.

不久前，在大型西方科技公司做老板还是一份让人梦寐以求的工作。

As the billions rolled in, so did the plaudits: Google, Facebook, Amazon and others were making the world a better place.

在亿万财富滚滚而来之时，还能收获交口称赞：谷歌、Facebook、亚马逊等公司正让世界变得更加美好。

Today these companies are accused of being BAADD—big, anti-competitive, addictive² and destructive to democracy.

而今天，这些公司备受指责——规模太大、反竞争、令人上瘾、破坏民主。

Regulators fine them, politicians grill³ them and one-time backers warn of their power to cause harm.

监管机构对它们开出罚单，政客对它们严厉质询，曾经的支持者也发出警告，指出它们势力过大，可能造成危害。

Much of this techlash is misguided. The presumption⁴ that big businesses must necessarily be wicked is plain wrong.

大部分对科技企业的抵制都有失偏颇。大企业一定就邪恶这种推断完全错误。

Apple is to be admired as the world’s most valuable listed company for the simple reason that it makes things people want to buy, even while facing fierce competition.

世界上市值最高的上市公司苹果广受尊重，原因很简单：即便面临激烈的竞争，苹果仍能生产出消费者愿意买单的产品。

Many online services would be worse if their providers were smaller. Evidence for the link between smartphones and unhappiness is weak.

如果在线服务供应商的规模比实际上要小，很多服务的质量就要打折扣。没有强有力的证据证明智能手机与幸福感低之间有关联。

Fake news is not only an online phenomenon.

假新闻也并非网络独有。

But big tech platforms, particularly Facebook, Google and Amazon, do indeed raise a worry about fair competition.

然而大型科技平台确实引发了对公平竞争的担忧，特别是Facebook、谷歌和亚马逊。

That is partly because they often benefit from legal exemptions⁵.

原因之一是它们经常因免于承担法律责任而受益。

Unlike publishers, Facebook and Google are rarely held responsible for what users do on them; and for years most American buyers on Amazon did not pay sales tax.

与出版商不同，Facebook和谷歌很少为用户在其平台上的行为负责。多年来，亚马逊上的大部分美国买家都没有支付消费税。

Nor do the titans simply compete in a market. Increasingly, they are the market itself, providing the infrastructure⁶ (or “platforms”) for much of the digital economy.

这几个超级巨头也不只是在市场上竞争，它们正日益变成市场本身，为大部分数字经济提供基础设施（即“平台”）。

Many of their services appear to be free, but users “pay” for them by giving away their data.

它们的许多服务看似免费，但用户在交出自己的数据时实际就在“付费”了。

Powerful though they already are, their huge stockmarket valuations suggest that investors⁷ are counting on them to double or even triple in size in the next decade.

尽管它们已经实力强大，但其巨大的市值表明，投资者期待未来十年它们的规模能再增加一倍甚至两倍。

There is thus a justified⁸ fear that the tech titans will use their power to protect and extend their dominance, to the detriment⁹ of consumers.

因此有理由担心，科技巨头会利用自身实力来保护和扩大它们的主导地位，进而损害消费者的利益。

The tricky¹⁰ task for policymakers is to restrain them without unduly¹¹ stifling¹² innovation.

政策制定者面临的棘手任务是既要约束它们，又要避免过度约束而扼杀创新。

1 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

2 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

3 grill   

n.烤架，铁格子，烤肉；v.烧，烤，严加盘问

参考例句：

• Put it under the grill for a minute to brown the top.放在烤架下烤一分钟把上面烤成金黄色。
• I'll grill you some mutton.我来给你烤一些羊肉吃。

4 presumption   

n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定

参考例句：

• Please pardon my presumption in writing to you.请原谅我很冒昧地写信给你。
• I don't think that's a false presumption.我认为那并不是错误的推测。

5 exemptions   

n.（义务等的）免除( exemption的名词复数 )；免（税）；（收入中的）免税额

参考例句：

• The exemptions for interpretive rules, policy statements, and procedural rules have just been discussed. 有关解释性规则、政策说明和程序规则的免责我们刚刚讨论过。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• A: The regulation outlines specific exemptions for some WPM. 答：该规定概述了某些木质包装材料的特定的例外情形。 来自互联网

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

8 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

9 detriment   

n.损害；损害物，造成损害的根源

参考例句：

• Smoking is a detriment to one's health.吸烟危害健康。
• His lack of education is a serious detriment to his career.他的未受教育对他的事业是一种严重的妨碍。

10 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

11 unduly   

adv.过度地，不适当地

参考例句：

• He did not sound unduly worried at the prospect.他的口气听上去对前景并不十分担忧。
• He argued that the law was unduly restrictive.他辩称法律的约束性有些过分了。

12 stifling   

a.令人窒息的

参考例句：

• The weather is stifling. It looks like rain. 今天太闷热，光景是要下雨。
• We were stifling in that hot room with all the windows closed. 我们在那间关着窗户的热屋子里，简直透不过气来。