所以问题是：分布式账本和区块链技术能用于
So, the question is: can distributed ledger technology, can blockchain technology be used
识破假新闻吗？
to fight fake news?
这很有趣 我认为技术领域中的分布式账本
And you know it’s funny, I view distributed ledger technology as the closest thing we
能起到作用是事实
have in the technology field to being able to say something is a fact.
如果我们记录一次比特币交易 实际上我们有完整的网络系统
If we’ve recorded a Bitcoin transaction, essentially we have an entire network witnessing
记录我转给你的比特币或数字资产 一个巨额
that I’ve sent you some number of Bitcoin or some number of a digital asset, a huge
数字
number.
现在我不能否认我做过这个交易 你也不能否认这个交易
And now I can’t deny that I made that transaction and you can’t deny that I made that transaction
这是一件很有影响力的事
and that is a really powerful thing.
在某种程度上 他就像维基百科 有人在上面发布东西
In a way it’s kind of like Wikipedia when somebody puts something in there and everyone
每个人都可以浏览 如果它是错误的就删除 有一些
has seen that and if it’s wrong it gets removed, that’s something as well that’s coming
会被接受为事实
to be accepted as factual.
所以我认为使用分布式账本记录数据有很高的质量
So I think the possibility of using distributed ledgers to record data that is of really high
因为当交易发生时被记录在账本中 很多人能看到
quality because it’s being recorded when it happens, it’s being witnessed by a large
所以是不可否认 不可改变的
number of people and thus made undeniable, immutable, in this ledger.
我们可以通过某种方式创建一些可信的数据
We have a chance of creating a body of data that can come to be trusted in a way that
通常单靠数据是做不到的
data normally can’t.
想想有关气候变化的争论 不仅有抨击
Think about the debate over climate change; there’s not only been attacks on, ‘Do you
“你有正确的天气模型吗”
have the right weather model?
“你真的展示这个吗？” 还有对基础的数据收集的抨击
Are you really showing this?’ but attacks on the fundamental collection of that data
在一开始
in the first place.
试想一下 如果不去争论你有正确的数据还是我有正确的数据
Imagine if instead of debating whether you had the right data or I had the right data
或者一部分数据丢失还是全部丢失 当政治管理改变时
or a piece of data goes missing or an entire dataset goes missing when there’s a change
假设我们不去想这些 而是想象一下
in political administration, let’s say, instead of that imagine if instead we had
世界上每一个城市的一百个屋顶上都有天气传感器和空气质量传感器
weather sensors and air quality sensors on a hundred rooftops in every major capital
用于收集数据并将其发布到账本中
around the world collecting this data and publishing it to a public ledger.
这些数据永远不会丢失
That data would never go away.
除非有一天网络系统中的每个服务器都消失了
It would only go away if every single server in this network were to disappear one day.
而数据的永久性 历史性和完整性 因为数字签名而有效
And that permanence, that history and the integrity of that data, because it’s signed
并且作为分布式账本的一部分 将成为不可变的
and it’s validated as part of this distributed ledger, would turn it into an immutable set
事实
of facts really.
这是新德里当时的温度数据 因为被一百个
It was this temperature in New Delhi on that date at that time as witnessed by a hundred
不同的当地浏览者看到
different witnesses there.
这就是分布式账本能帮助我们确认的一种方式
So that’s one way in which distributed ledger technology might help us make sure that we’re
我们从共同的认识和事实依据出发
operating from a foundation of common sense, common factual evidence.
接下来的一系列 当人们说到假新闻时会提到
The next tier up though, which is really what people talk about when they think about fake
分析 解释 声明 和谣言
news, is analysis, interpretation, claims, but also rumor.
当有人听到下流的谣言时 这就关系到
When somebody hears a rumor of something very scurrilous happening and it correlates with
他们相信什么 可能他们会相信 并将其分享给
what they want to believe, chances are they’ll believe it and they’ll pass it off to their
朋友
friends.
所以你开始看到到一些公司 像Facebook 谷歌和其他开始应用这种系统的公司
And so you start to see companies like Facebook and Google and others starting to implement
当你将一个被告知是可疑来源的链接发给朋友时
systems that when you forward a link to a friend that comes from a source that is known
他们会弹出一个警告 根据
to be of questionable quality, they’ll pop up a little warning that says, ‘According
路网 美联社或某些人 这篇文章可能不属实
to Snopes.com or according to the AP or somebody this article might not be factual.’
若你是信息提供者 像Facebook或谷歌 你也可以做这些事
That’s something you can do when you’re a central provider like Facebook or like Google,
但是以分散的方式做好吗？
but wouldn’t it be great to do that in a decentralized way?
当有人向你发送一个新闻链接到一个你从未听说过的网站上
When somebody sends you a news link to a website you’ve never heard of before, not The New
不是纽约时报 美联社或福克斯新闻 也不是一些你了解
York Times, not AP or Fox News or whatever, where you have some context, but it’s some
而是一些其他来源的链接 你应该相信多少？
other link somewhere else, how much should you trust that?
很多人谈到建立分布式账本系统
Well a lot of folks have talked about building a distributed ledger system for recording
记录媒体中的抨击言论
thrust in media sources.
所以把我们了解的网站和人 比如路网 当做权威
So here’s a website, here’s people that we recognize, like Snopes, as authorities
来辨别事情是否真实 但为什么你不在网上发表一些内容呢？
on whether something is true or not, but why not you be able to publish something to that
或者是 “我认为这是正确的或者不是
chain as well, or me, that says, ‘This does seem to be right to me or this doesn’t seem
正确的”
to be right.’
就像在推特上你可以选择相信谁 你应该选择
And then just like on Twitter where you can choose who you follow, you could choose what
你信任的权威的来源 辨别事情是否是真实的
are the sources of authority that you trust as to whether something is true or not.
这可能是对假新闻的解决办法 也可能
That may turn out to be an answer to the fake news problem, or it may turn out to make the
让我们生活的世界改变 让不真实的世界更加不真实
different worlds that we all live in and the bubbles we live in even more bubblelicious.
我认为很多人希望可以尝试用这种方法与谣言的制造者斗争
I think there are many who hope that is one way in which we can try to fight the rumor
假新闻的洪流正在互联网肆虐
mongering and fake news floods that are happening on the Internet today.