社交媒体如何改变了我们交流的方式？

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🤔️小作业：

1. In the passage, John Perry Barlow's 1996 essay is used to illustrate which of the following points?

A. The necessity of government control over cyberspace.

B. The early vision of the internet as a space free from government sovereignty.

C. The support from poets and artists for government regulations online.

D. The evolution of social media algorithms since the internet's inception.

无注释原文：

How have social media algorithms changed the way we interact?

From: BBC

Social media algorithms, in their commonly known form, are now 15 years old.

They were born with Facebook's introduction of ranked, personalised news feeds in 2009 and have transformed how we interact online.

And like many teenagers, they pose a challenge to grown-ups who hope to curb their excesses.

It's not for want of trying. This year alone, governments around the world have attempted to limit the impacts of harmful content and disinformation on social media – effects that are amplified by algorithms.

In Brazil, authorities briefly banned X, formerly known as Twitter, until the site agreed to appoint a legal representative in the country and block a list of accounts that the authorities accused of questioning the legitimacy of the country's last election.

Meanwhile, the EU has introduced new rules threatening to fine tech firms 6% of turnover and suspend them if they fail to prevent election interference on their platforms.

In the UK, a new online safety act aims to compel social media sites to tighten content moderation.

And in the US, a proposed law could ban TikTok if the app isn't sold by its Chinese parent company.

The governments face accusations that they are restricting free speech and interfering with the principles of the internet as laid down in its early days.

In a 1996 essay that was republished by 500 websites – the closest you could get to going viral back then – US poet and cattle rancher John Perry Barlow argued: “Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.”

The limits of the digital town square

This idea of a “marketplace of ideas” feeds into a view of social media as offering a level playing field, allowing all voices to be heard equally. When he took over Twitter (now rebranded as X) in 2022, Elon Musk said that he saw the platform as a “digital town square”.

But does that fail to take into account the role of algorithms?

According to US lawyer and Yale University global affairs lecturer Asha Rangappa, Musk “ignores some important differences between the traditional town square and the one online: removing all content restrictions without accounting for these differences would harm democratic debate, rather than help it.”

Introduced in an early 20th-Century Supreme Court case, the concept of a “marketplace of ideas”, Rangappa argues, “is based on the premise that ideas should compete with each other without government interference”. However, she claims, “the problem is that social media platforms like Twitter are nothing like a real public square”.

Rather, argues Rangappa, “the features of social media platforms don't allow for free and fair competition of ideas to begin with… the ‘value' of an idea on social media isn't a reflection of how good it is, but is rather the product of the platform's algorithm.”（节选）

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注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为BBC官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

How have social media algorithms changed the way we interact?

From: BBC

Social media algorithms, in their commonly known form, are now 15 years old.

人们所熟知的社交媒体算法已经存在 15 年了。

algorithm /ˈælɡəˌrɪðəm/ 表示“算法；计算程序”，英文解释为“a set of rules that must be followed when solving a particular problem”

They were born with Facebook's introduction of ranked, personalised news feeds in 2009 and have transformed how we interact online.

2009年，随着脸书（Facebook）推出排名式个性化新闻推送，算法应运而生，并改变了我们在线互动的方式。

feed作动词，表示“供给；供应；（尤指规律地或连续地）把…放进（机器或系统）”，英文解释为“to supply something to a person or thing, or put something into a machine or system, especially in a regular or continuous way”举个🌰：The vegetables are fed into the machine at this end. 蔬菜从这头放进机器里。

feed一词，作名词时，不知道你有没有听过“Feed流”或者“信息流”这样的说法，熟悉互联网行业的人可能会比较了解，指的就是持续向用户提供内容更新的信息流服务，比如朋友圈（Moments），微博，抖音的形式，你可以以时间线或者兴趣度一条一条地往下刷或者说阅读。可以看下Web feed或者News feed的英文解释：a data format used for providing users with frequently updated content.

📍《经济学人》（The Economist）一篇讲述战斗机AI飞行员的文章中提到：Ms Broadbent's team is also experimenting with novel ways to deliver information to a pilot, from a Twitter-like feed to an anthropomorphic avatar. 布罗德本特的团队也在测试用推特式消息流、拟人化形象等各种新鲜方式向飞行员发送信息。

interact /ˌɪn.təˈrækt/ 表示“交互，交流，交往；互相作用，互相影响”，英文解释为“to communicate with or react to”举个🌰：Her teacher says that she interacts well with the other children. 她的老师说她与别的孩子相处得很好。

And like many teenagers, they pose a challenge to grown-ups who hope to curb their excesses.

和许多青少年一样，算法对希望控制他们过度行为的成年人也构成了挑战。

可以作动词，也可以作名词，表示“控制，抑制，限定，约束（不好的事物）”，英文解释为“to control or limit sth, especially sth bad”举个🌰：A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。（名词）He called for much stricter curbs on immigration. 他呼吁对移民实行更为严格的限制。

It's not for want of trying. This year alone, governments around the world have attempted to limit the impacts of harmful content and disinformation on social media – effects that are amplified by algorithms.

这并不是因为我们对此无所事事。仅今年一年，世界各国政府就试图限制有害内容和虚假信息对社交媒体的影响，而这些内容的影响都被算法放大了。

amplify /ˈæm.plɪ.faɪ/ 表示“增强，放大”，英文解释为“To amplify something means to increase its strength or intensity.”举个🌰：These stories only amplified her fears. 这些故事徒增了她的恐惧感。

In Brazil, authorities briefly banned X, formerly known as Twitter, until the site agreed to appoint a legal representative in the country and block a list of accounts that the authorities accused of questioning the legitimacy of the country's last election.

在巴西，当局近期曾短暂禁用原名Twitter的X，直到该网站同意在该国任命一名法定代表人并屏蔽一份黑名单上的账户，当局指控这些账户质疑该国上次选举的合法性。

block /blɒk/ 表示“堵塞；阻挡；阻碍”，英文解释为“to prevent movement through something”举个🌰：A fallen tree is blocking the road. 一棵倒下的树挡住了路。

在社交媒体上「屏蔽」某人，不看某人的动态，用的就是block。

legitimacy /ləˈdʒɪt.ə.mə.si/ 表示“合法性”，英文解释为“the quality of being legal ”举个🌰：The lawyers expressed serious doubts about the legitimacy of military action. 律师们对军事行动的合法性表示强烈怀疑。

Meanwhile, the EU has introduced new rules threatening to fine tech firms 6% of turnover and suspend them if they fail to prevent election interference on their platforms.

与此同时，欧盟出台了新规则，威胁称，如果科技公司不能防止平台干预选举，就要对它们处以营业额6%的罚款，并暂停其服务。

turnover /ˈtɜːnˌəʊ.vər/ 1）表示“（一定时期内的）营业额，成交量”，英文解释为“the amount of business that a company does in a period of time”举个🌰：Large supermarkets have high turnovers (= their goods sell very quickly). 大型超市的货品销售量很大。

2）表示“人事变更率；人员调整率”，英文解释为“the rate at which employees leave a company and are replaced by other people” 如：a high turnover of staff 很高的人员变更率。

suspend /səˈspend/ 1）表示“（因犯错而）暂令停职；暂令停学；暂令停止参加活动”，英文解释为“If someone is suspended from work, school, etc., they are temporarily not allowed to work, go to school, or take part in an activity because of having done something wrong.”举个🌰：He was suspended for four games after arguing with the referee. 跟裁判发生争执之后，他被停赛4场。

2）表示“暂停”，英文解释为“If you suspend something, you delay it or stop it from happening for a while or until a decision is made about it”举个🌰：The union suspended the action this week. 工会本周暂停了这一行动。

📍《经济学人》（The Economist）一篇讲述英国房价上涨的文章中提到：Britain has temporarily suspended stamp duty, a tax on buying houses. 英国已经暂停征收购房印花税。

3）表示“悬挂”，英文解释为“to hang”举个🌰：The builders worked on wooden platforms, suspended by ropes from the roof of the building. 建筑工人站在用绳子从房顶上吊下来的木制平台上作业。

interference /ˌɪn.təˈfɪə.rəns/ 表示“干涉，干预”，英文解释为“an occasion when someone tries to interfere in a situation”举个🌰：She seems to regard any advice or help from me as interference. 她似乎把我的任何建议或帮助都看作是干涉。

📍2022年政府工作报告Part 20提到：坚决反对“台独”分裂行径，坚决反对外部势力干涉。We firmly oppose any separatist activities seeking “Taiwan independence” and firmly oppose foreign interference.

In the UK, a new online safety act aims to compel social media sites to tighten content moderation.

在英国，一项新的网络安全法案旨在迫使社交媒体网站加强内容审核。

compel /kəmˈpel/ 表示“强迫；迫使；使必须”，英文解释为“to force sb to do sth; to make sth necessary”举个🌰：The law can compel fathers to make regular payments for their children. 这项法律可强制父亲定期支付子女的费用。

moderation /ˌmɒd.ərˈeɪ.ʃən/ 1）表示“ 适度；适中；合理；节制”，英文解释为“the quality of being reasonable and not being extreme”举个🌰：The United Nations Secretary General called on all parties to show moderation. 联合国秘书长呼吁各方要克制。

2）也有“审核，审核评分制”的含义，英文解释为“the action or process of moderating examination papers, results, or candidates”。

📍《经济学人》（The Economist）一篇讲述TikTok的文章中提到：Controversies around TikTok's content moderation and data protection will keep cropping up. TikTok在内容审查和数据保护方面的争议将不断涌现。

And in the US, a proposed law could ban TikTok if the app isn't sold by its Chinese parent company.

在美国，一项拟议的法律正要出炉，该国表示，如果中国母公司不抛售TikTok，美国用户将失去这个软件。

In a 1996 essay that was republished by 500 websites – the closest you could get to going viral back then – US poet and cattle rancher John Perry Barlow argued: “Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.”

美国诗人兼牧场主约翰·佩里·巴洛 (John Perry Barlow) 在1996年的一篇文章中辩称：“工业世界的政府，你们是令人厌倦的血肉和钢铁巨人，我来自网络空间，这是思想的新家园。代表未来，我请求你们这些过去的人们不要打扰我们。你们不受欢迎。在我们聚集的地方，你们没有主权。”

cattle /ˈkæt.əl/ 表示“牛”，英文解释为“a group of animals that includes cows, buffalo, and bison, that are often kept for their milk or meat”如：beef/dairy cattle 肉/奶牛。

rancher /ˈrɑːn.tʃər/ 表示“大牧场主（或工人） ；大农场主（或工人）”，英文解释为“someone who owns or works on a ranch”

weary /ˈwɪə.ri/ 表示“（尤指长时间辛苦工作后）筋疲力尽的，极为疲倦的”，英文解释为“very tired, especially after working hard for a long time”举个🌰：I think he's a little weary after his long journey. 我想他在长途旅行后有些疲倦了。

sovereignty /ˈsɒvrəntɪ/ 表示“主权，统治权”，英文解释为“the power of a country to control its own government”

The limits of the digital town square 数字城镇广场的局限性

This idea of a “marketplace of ideas” feeds into a view of social media as offering a level playing field, allowing all voices to be heard equally. When he took over Twitter (now rebranded as X) in 2022, Elon Musk said that he saw the platform as a “digital town square”.

“思想集市”这一理念体现了这样一种观点：社交媒体提供了一个公平的竞争环境，让所有人的声音都能被平等地听到。2022 年，埃隆·马斯克接管X时表示，他将该平台视为一个“数字城镇广场”。

熟词僻义，作形容词，1）表示“得分相同”，英文解释为“having the same score as sb”举个🌰：France took an early lead but Wales soon drew level (= scored the same number of points) . 法国队开始领先，但很快就被威尔士队把比分扳平。

2）表示“相等的；等量的”，英文解释为“flat or horizontal”举个🌰：Make sure the camera is level before you take the picture. 拍照前要保证相机处于水平位置。举个🌰：The unions are fighting to keep wages level with inflation. 工会正在争取工资与通货膨胀率保持同步增长。

But does that fail to take into account the role of algorithms?

但这是否没有考虑到算法的作用？

According to US lawyer and Yale University global affairs lecturer Asha Rangappa, Musk “ignores some important differences between the traditional town square and the one online: removing all content restrictions without accounting for these differences would harm democratic debate, rather than help it.”

美国律师兼耶鲁大学全球事务讲师阿莎·兰加帕 (Asha Rangappa) 表示，马斯克“忽略了传统城镇广场和在线城镇广场之间的一些重要区别：在不考虑这些差异的情况下取消所有内容限制将损害民主辩论，而不是帮助它。”

democratic /ˌdem.əˈkræt.ɪk/ 表示“民主的”，英文解释为“based on the principles of democracy”举个🌰：Do you think Australia is a more democratic country than Britain? 你觉得澳大利亚比英国更民主吗？

Introduced in an early 20th-Century Supreme Court case, the concept of a “marketplace of ideas”, Rangappa argues, “is based on the premise that ideas should compete with each other without government interference”. However, she claims, “the problem is that social media platforms like Twitter are nothing like a real public square”.

兰加帕认为：“思想集市”这一概念是在 20 世纪初最高法院的一个案件中提出的，“其前提是思想应该在没有政府干预的情况下相互竞争”。她还补充说明“问题在于，像 Twitter这样的社交媒体平台与真正的公共广场完全不同。”

premise /ˈprem.ɪs/ 表示“前提；假定”，英文解释为“a statement or an idea that forms the basis for a reasonable line of argument”，如：the basic premise of her argument 她的论证的基本前提，a false premise 错误的前提。

Rather, argues Rangappa, “the features of social media platforms don't allow for free and fair competition of ideas to begin with… the 'value' of an idea on social media isn't a reflection of how good it is, but is rather the product of the platform's algorithm.”

她认为，“社交媒体平台的功能从一开始就不允许思想自由和公平地竞争……社交媒体上思想的‘价值’并不反映它有多好，而是平台算法的产物。”

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