工具之奴

湯姆·馬洪

The digital revolution promised so much at the outset1： computers would make air travel safer， health care more affordable， and education more widely available.

But for all the evident benefits—and there are many—the tools have taken over the toolmakers.

—Complex algorithms2， beyond human understanding， replace even the most high-valued jobs， including the jobs of algorithm writers;

—Yet even as jobs and income disappear， mobile devices bombarded with3 messages urging endless consumption of finite resources. The resulting frustration is leveraged4 by powerful media to keep the public in a state of fury5 and frenzy6;

—What jobs do remain demand that we work at superhuman speed to keep up with superfast silicon systems;

—Opaque institutions demand that our lives be absolutely transparent to them， even as hackers can rob us of our very identities;

—Wall Street and Silicon Valley are allied in putting impenetrable7 walls around ideas （IP8） in order to monetize9 those ideas （IPOs10）， creating an economy that puts a price on everything， but is unmindful11 of the value of anything.

When greed， gain and self-aggrandizement are the inputs， then waste， rapacity and rage are the outputs， ravaging12 the environmental， communal and personal spheres.

And even as we are increasingly drawn into the dark side of the digital ecosystem， it’s increasingly obvious that extrication13 is increasingly difficult.

So where do we go from here？

First， consider that the purpose of tools is to leverage our limited human abilities in order to accomplish ever-greater results. Archimedes14 said， “With a lever long enough， and a fulcrum15 strong enough， I can lift the world.” And he could if he had a place in space on which to rest the fulcrum.

Tools developed in three phases over history. From early on， they leveraged our muscles. With the six simple tools of antiquity—the lever， pulley， screw， wheel， inclined plane， and wedge—our ancestors created civilizations： clearing fields， draining swamps， and building temples and towers for the gods they imagined and the powerful who controlled them.

Then about 400 years ago， our ancestors began to develop tools to extend the senses： first， the telescope and microscope， and later the radio and television， allowing them to see far out， deep down， and long ago.

Beginning in the early 20th Century， we developed tools to extend our brains： computers， the Internet， smart devices， the ‘Cloud.’

But even as our ancestors developed tools over time to leverage their muscles， senses and brains， they also developed tools to leverage their soul， or atman16， or psyche， so as to be composed within themselves， and thus try to establish just and civil societies. These spiritual technologies included prayer， meditation， chi gong， yoga， ethical standards， communal worship…

In the past century， revolutions in transportation and communication have enabled the leveraging of spiritual technologies profoundly.

With soul-tools， especially non-violent resistance， Gandhi17 and his followers brought down the British raj18; Dr. King19 and his followers brought an end to the Jim Crow laws20 in America; and Mandela21， de Klerk22， et. al. ended apartheid23 in South Africa. And these world-changing events were accomplished with minimal violence.

But Gandhi and others showed it is not enough to bring down24 wicked regimes. There must be livable alternatives.

Beyond taking a stand against the leveraging of waste and rage， we need to incorporate the two universal pillars of wisdom—composure and compassion—into our use of tools.

How？ First， whenever you use a tool—whether a shovel， a pencil， or a supercomputer—do so in a composed frame of mind. That isn’t possible most of the time， especially in work situations， but it is something to be aware of and to strive for.

Then， to the extent possible， consider the outcomes at the other end of the leveraging process. When you apply energy to any tool， the results are usually much greater than the inputs. That is the whole purpose of leverage and of tools. Strive therefore so that the outcomes manifest25 kindness， or at a minimum26 cause no pain and do no evil.

When jangledness27 of mind is present at the inputs， the outcomes will be jangled and hurtful. And people at the receiving end are then likely to express that anger and pain in their own tool use.

And so the cycle of violence propagates and increases with each spin of the wheel. Gandhi and others showed that the pernicious28 cycle could only be broken when we are composed in our tool use.

So to the extent possible， be mindful of that when you put energy into a tool. And strive for outcomes that manifest kindness and compassion， even if you never see those results.

This model—of composed and mindful inputs leveraged to produce kind and compassionate outcomes—is admittedly not possible for most people much of the time. And by itself it is not a panacea29 for all the environmental， communal and personal despoliation30 resulting from tool use run amok. We have a long， hard slog ahead of us. But every individual effort in that direction， however small， does represent a step in reconnecting technical capability with social and moral responsibility.

There is a second process we can initiate when the rush and disruptions of the digital revolution wear us down31. Find others who share your concerns， your situation， your pressures， and then meet and talk with them. Alcoholics Anonymous， among other recovery programs， is good example of how this works： regular meetings with like-minded people provide the chance to speak， with assurance of privacy， about how they are dealing—or not dealing—with stress and pressures in their own lives. Sharing concerns with others similarly afflicted， in a safe place， is a proven first step in dealing with them.

From such meetings at the local level， a new economy of sharing， bartering32 and promoting the common good may emerge to create meaningful work， and counter the current corrupting global financial system whereby one’s gain comes only at another’s loss.

Individual efforts to be composed when using tools， so as to leverage kindness in the outcomes， can in turn be leveraged by joining with others to share， inspire and protect.

These actions alone do not represent the beginning of the end of the negative consequences of the technology revolution. But they may be the end of the beginning—of the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness brought about by the growing awareness that we are now the tools of our tools.

If we had the ingenuity33 to invent the devices that increasingly control us， we also have the ingenuity to reclaim our rightful ownership of our tools， so that humane inputs will secure more just， healthy and benevolent34 outputs.

Pray for peace; work for justice.

In closing， here is a short verse that speaks to the essence of our current condition：

Nature is how universe-mind touches our mind.

Tools—technology—are how our mind touches universe-mind.

When these minds are aligned， there is success-in-living.

When they are misaligned， there will be catastrophe.

Mindfulness in our tool-use is essential now，

For our success， our sanity， our survival.

起初，數字革命前景無限：計算機將讓飛行更安全、醫療更便宜、教育更普及。

盡管一眾好處顯而易見——也確實不少——但工具已凌駕于制造者之上并取而代之。

——超越人類理解能力的復雜算法，可以取代人完成那些最重要的工作，包括算法編寫;

——如今，即便人們沒了工作和收入，移動設備仍會進行信息轟炸，鼓動人們不停消耗有限的資源。由此產生的挫敗感被強大的媒體利用，讓公眾陷入憤怒與狂躁。

——即便還沒丟掉工作，但我們被迫超速運轉，以跟上高速運行的電腦系統;

——非公開透明機構要求我們的生活對其完全透明，黑客趁機得以竊取我們真實的身份信息;

——華爾街和硅谷聯手在各種創意四周筑起知識產權的銅墻鐵壁，通過上市募股來汲取財富，創造出一種只管為萬物定價、卻不顧其價值幾何的經濟。

如果投入的是貪婪、逐利與自我膨脹，得到的就會是浪費、掠奪與肆虐，危害環境、公共領域及私人生活。

當我們日益卷入數字生態系統的黑暗之中，掙脫的難度也與日俱增，這一點越來越明顯。

面對這種情況，我們該怎么辦？

首先，明確使用工具的目的是彌補人類有限的能力，以取得更大成效。阿基米德曾說：“給我一根足夠長的杠桿，一個足夠穩固的支點，我就能撬起整個地球。”是的。如果能在太空中找到一個可靠的支點，他可以做到。

歷史上，工具發展可分為三個階段。在人類社會早期，工具增強了我們的力量。利用六種簡易古代工具——杠桿、滑輪、螺絲、輪子、斜面和楔子——祖先們創造了人類文明：清理田地、排干沼澤、為心中的神靈和強權統治階級修建殿堂和塔樓。

大約400年前，我們的先人開始創造工具來延伸感官：先是望遠鏡和顯微鏡，再是收音機和電視機，以便能看得更遠、更深、更早。

從20世紀初開始，我們陸續開發出一系列工具來延伸大腦：計算機、互聯網、智能設備和“云”。

隨著時間推移，我們的祖先不僅通過工具來運用肌力、感官與頭腦，他們還創造出一系列工具來提升靈魂、自我或心智，旨在不斷令內心平和，建立起公正、文明的社會。這些精神層面的技術包括祈禱、冥想、氣功、瑜伽、道德標準、集體崇拜……

在過去的一個世紀，交通與通信革命讓精神技術的提升得到充分顯現。

利用精神工具，尤其是非暴力抵抗，甘地及其追隨者推翻了英國對印度的殖民統治;金博士及其追隨者終結了美國的吉姆·克勞法;曼德拉、德克勒克等人終結了南非的種族隔離。這些改變世界格局的事件僅通過最低程度的暴力便得以實現。

但是甘地等人的事跡表明，推翻邪惡政權是不夠的，還必須有其他可行的方案。

在堅決反對浪費與肆虐的基礎上，我們還需要把人類智慧的兩大支柱——冷靜與關愛——融入工具使用過程中。

如何做呢？首先，當你使用一種工具時——不管是一把鏟子、一支鉛筆或是一臺超級計算機——都應該使頭腦保持一種冷靜的狀態。這種狀態在很多時候都難以保持，尤其是在工作中，但這正是我們要意識到并盡力保持的狀態。

其次，要盡可能考慮到工具產生的結果。無論哪種工具，輸出的能量通常遠遠大于輸入的能量。這也正是使用杠桿和工具的目的所在。因此，要謹慎行事，盡可能讓結果呈現出善意，或至少不要造成他人的痛苦，不要作惡。

如果輸入的是煩躁思緒，那輸出的結果必定煩亂、傷人。接受者拿起工具有可能將這種憤怒與痛苦傳遞下去。

這樣一來，暴力就會循環往復，不斷增加。甘地等人證明，只有當我們冷靜地使用工具時，才有可能打破這種惡性循環。

因此，當你使用某種工具時，要盡可能意識到這一點，盡力讓結果表現出善意與關愛，即便你永遠看不到那些結果。

這種模式——利用冷靜、用心的投入來得到善意、友愛的結果——在很多時候對大多數人來說都是不可能的。對于由工具失控而導致的各種環境、公共和個人掠奪行為而言，它也不是靈丹妙藥。前路漫長而艱難。但是，沿著這條道路，每個人所做的努力，無論多么微小，都將推動技術能力與社會及道德責任之間的連接。

如果數字革命的疾速與混亂讓人疲憊不堪，那我們可以開啟第二個進程。找那些和你有相同憂慮、處境和壓力的人，和他們見面并交談。在一些康復項目中，匿名戒酒會就是一個樣例：在確保隱私的前提下，與志趣相投者定期會面，讓人們有機會交流，講述他們如何應對或放任生活中的各種壓力。在一個安全的地方，與經歷相似的人分享內心憂慮，已被證明是應對問題的第一步。

在這種本地聚會中，一種能夠共享、交換和增進共同利益的新興經濟或將興起，并產生深遠影響，對抗當前腐敗的、自身收益只能建立在他人虧損上的全球金融體系。

在工具使用過程中，每個人都要保持冷靜，在結果中表現出善意。這樣的話，我們的努力就會對他人產生作用，引導他們像我們一樣去分享、激發和保護這份善意。

這些行為本身并不意味著技術革命帶來的負面影響開始消退。但是，它們或許能消除一種苗頭——日益意識到自己正淪為工具之奴后所產生的那種無助或絕望感。

如果說我們當初有足夠智慧創造出那些日益控制我們的工具，我們同樣也有能力收回對工具合理的操控。只有這樣，人性化的操作才能產生更為公正的、健康的、有益的結果。

祈禱和平，致力公正。

最后，這首短詩點明了人類現狀：

自然是天意對心智的點撥。

工具——技術——是心智對天意的響應。

心智與天意相合，存生機一線。

心智與天意相悖，恐大難臨頭。

工具之用，謹慎為道。

志在成功、明理與生存。

（譯者單位：南京航空航天大學）