爲什麼要害怕谷歌 故事纔剛剛開始

The European Commission’s antitrust investigation of Google is a test of the continent’s ability to reverse the invisible conquest of its sovereignty. Much of the fault lies with the commission’s own unimaginative technology policy, for which an episode of Google-bashing is no substitute.

歐盟委員會(European Commission)對谷歌(Google)的反壟斷調查，將檢驗其是否有能力扭轉自身權力受到無形侵犯的情況。大部分過錯在於歐盟委員會自身缺乏想象力的科技政策，打壓谷歌抵消不了這個問題。

The “extended search” features that are at the centre of the commission’s complaint save us a few clicks and cut out a few middlemen. Search for “weather”, and Google will now show the forecast itself instead of sending us off to another site. Google says it is being helpful. Who could disagree?

讓歐盟委員會感到不滿的核心問題是谷歌的“延伸搜索”功能，它讓我們省去幾次點擊，減少幾個中間人。搜索“天氣”時，谷歌現在將直接顯示天氣預報，而不是引導我們去別的網站。谷歌表示，這麼做是有益的。誰能反對呢？

But the search engine is going further. To truly anticipate our needs, the company wants to know our habits, schedules, social circles. So it is planting sensors wherever they might pick up the faintest trace of our aura. First they popped up in our inboxes, which Google continuously scans in order to sell advertising. Next it was our smartphones, glasses and thermostats. Soon it will be our cars. The ultimate step would be to abolish the search box altogether, and try to satisfy our information needs before we have even expressed them. Google’s Eric Schmidt once described this approach as a “serendipity engine”, arguing that this is the future of search.

但這家搜索引擎公司還要走得更遠。爲了正確預知我們的需求，谷歌公司想掌握我們的習慣、日程和社交圈。所以，谷歌在所有能捕捉到我們一絲一毫氣息的地方安置傳感器。最開始，谷歌會在我們的收件箱裏冒出來，那是谷歌在連續掃描，爲的是銷售廣告。接着是我們的智能手機、眼鏡和自動調溫器。很快就會輪到我們的汽車。最後一步將是完全取消搜索框，努力滿足我們甚至尚未表達出來的信息需求。谷歌的埃裏克•施密特(Eric Schmidt)曾把這種特色稱爲“巧遇引擎”(serendipity engine)，聲稱這就是搜索的未來。

This is the vision that already informs Google Now, Google’s flagship virtual assistant – available on smartphones and in the Chrome browser – which draws on all the information at Google’s disposal. It provides traffic information, reminds users of upcoming travel reservations, announces trendy restaurants nearby, shows film listings at local cinemas, and much else. Such insights are possible because Google studies our search habits, tracks our emails, and understands our location. The company argues that, far from occupying a dominant position, it is a sitting duck for any start-up that comes up with a better algorithm. But in truth, it is Google’s vast repository of data that sets it apart – and here it has such a big head start that no competitor is likely to catch up.

這一設想已在可下載於智能手機和Chrome瀏覽器的谷歌旗艦虛擬助手——Google Now——中有所體現。該服務可以讓一切信息爲谷歌所用。它能提供路況信息，提醒用戶即將到來的旅行預訂，告訴他們附近的時尚飯店，顯示當地電影院的放映單，等等。它之所以具備這種預見能力，是因爲谷歌研究我們的搜索習慣，追蹤我們的電郵，掌握我們所處位置。谷歌聲稱自己絕對沒有佔據支配地位，任何一家研究出更好算法的初創企業都能對其構成致命衝擊。但事實上，谷歌掌握的海量數據讓它與衆不同，它在這方面擁有如此巨大的領先優勢，以致沒有哪家競爭對手可能追上它。

Still, if there is a problem with Google’s ambitions, the commission has yet to put its finger on it. That is because Europe has come under the spell of American neoliberalism, with its unashamed celebration of monopolies in the name of consumer welfare and market efficiency. It is time to recover the almost-forgotten language of politics, and treat users as citizens first and consumers second.

儘管如此，如果說谷歌的雄心壯志有什麼問題的話，歐盟委員會還沒有確切地指出來。這是因爲，歐洲已被美國的新自由主義所迷惑了——新自由主義打出消費者福祉和市場效率的幌子，厚顏無恥地讚美壟斷。現在是時候找出幾乎被忘記的政治語言，首先把用戶當公民對待、然後再把他們當消費者對待了。

The dangers are real. By coupling advertising with the pre-emptive possibilities of its serendipity engine, Google could turn citizens into automata, who entertain an illusion of free will while living in a world of options, nudges and suggestions generated by autonomous algorithms optimised for profit alone.

危險是真實存在的。谷歌把廣告與“巧遇引擎”先知先覺的種種可能結合起來，就可能把公民變成機器人——他們將一方面沉浸在自由意志的幻覺中，另一方面卻生活在一個由選項、推送和建議組成的世界裏，而這些選項、推送和建議是由僅爲盈利目的而優化的自主算法生成的。

It is also shortsighted to allow Google to guard the key to a trove of user data that could do immense good if, once suitably cleaned up and anonymised, it were placed in public hands.

允許谷歌保管用戶數據寶庫的鑰匙也是短視的。一旦這些數據進行適當清理並隱去姓名，然後交到公衆手中，就可能會帶來巨大好處。

Google is not the ideal information intermediary and it might be making it harder for better ones to emerge. This should prompt greater regulatory scrutiny of its power, but that alone will not suffice. A pressing task for Brussels is to create the conditions in which a strong and genuinely European alternative for information-sharing – and not just another Google but with an EU address – can thrive.

谷歌不是理想的信息中介，它可能讓更好的信息中介的出現變得更困難。爲此監管機構應加大對谷歌權力的審查力度，但僅靠這一點還不夠。歐盟委員會的一項緊迫任務，是創造條件，讓一家實力強大、真正歐洲的信息共享機構——而不是僅僅一家註冊於歐盟地區、但跟谷歌一樣的公司——能夠成長壯大。

It can start by ramping up investment in digital infrastructure – in a way that does not channel more money to national telecoms monopolies or homegrown Google-wannabes. Instead, Europe should support (and, if needed, create) digital platforms that are decentralised and advertising-free, that provide privacy and security by design, and that treat data as a way to promote public good.

歐洲最開始可以增加在數字基礎設施方面的投資——在此過程中不要把更多資金引導至國家電信壟斷企業或本土那些希望成爲谷歌的公司。相反，歐洲應當支持（並創建，如有必要的話）一些數字平臺，它們具有分散化、無廣告的特點，注重隱私保護和安全措施，把數據用於增進公衆利益的目的。

This a daunting task. There are few signs that Europe can handle it. So far, it is in China and Russia that alternative visions – spurred by fears of foreign espionage – have emerged, though in a way that pays scant respect to privacy.

這是一項十分艱鉅的任務。目前幾乎沒有跡象顯示歐洲能辦到這一點。迄今爲止，僅在中國和俄羅斯出現了類似谷歌的公司——動因是擔心來自外國的間諜活動——儘管其業務模式幾乎毫不尊重個人隱私。

Unless it rethinks its reliance on Silicon Valley, Europe risks being left behind – politically, technologically and economically. For the incoming European Commission this is an existential challenge. Punching Google might be fun and it probably has to be done. But that should be the beginning of the story, not the end.

除非歐洲反思一下其對硅谷的依賴，否則可能在政治、技術和經濟方面居於落後地位。對於歐盟委員會的新領導班子而言，這是一個事關存亡的挑戰。打壓谷歌可能很有趣，而且很可能必須這麼做。但這應當是故事的開頭，而不是結尾。