这个问题之所以特别令人忧虑,是因为信息技术和生物技术的双重革命,让人类这个物种遭遇了有史以来最大的挑战,从而对自由主义逐渐失去了信心。信息技术和生物技术一旦携手,可能很快就会让数十亿人失业,同时破坏“自由”和“平等”这两个概念。大数据算法可能导致数字独裁,也就是所有权力集中在一小群精英手中,而大多数人不只
是被剥削,还面临更糟的局面:如草芥般无足轻重。
This question is particularly poignant, because liberalism is losing
credibility exactly when the twin revolutions in information
technology and biotechnology confront us with the biggest challenges
our species has ever encountered. The merger of infotech and biotech
might soon push billions of humans out of the job market and
undermine both liberty and equality. Big Data algorithms might create
digital dictatorships in which all power is concentrated in the hands of
a tiny elite while most people suffer not from exploitation, but from
something far worse -irrelevance。

At the close of the twentieth century it appeared that thegreat ideological battles between fascism, communism and liberalismresulted in the overwhelming of liberalism. Democratic
politics, human rights and free-market capitalism seemed destined to
conquer the entire world. But as usual, history took an unexpected
turn, and after fascism and communism collapsed, now liberalism is in a
Jam. So where are we heading

本书开篇首先概览当前的政治和技术困境。20世纪结束时,法西斯主义、共产主义和自由主义之间发生的巨大的意识形态斗争最后似乎是自由主义暂时胜出,民主政治、人权和自由市场资本主义似乎注定要征服整个世界。但一如往常,历史发生了意想不到的转变,继法西斯主义崩溃和共产主义受挫之后,现在自由主义也陷入了困境。那么,我们究
竟将走向何方?

How can I find a firm ethical ground in a world that extends far beyond my horizons, that spins completely out of human control, and that holds all
gods and ideologies suspect?

然而,这些目标真的能实现吗?如果这个世界就是这样远远超出我们的眼界、完全不受人类控制、所有的神祇和意识形态都遭到质疑,我们又怎么可能找到稳固的道德根基?