别让逐利的AI 公司夺走我们的键盘（观点，中英对照）

多伦多一家初创公司正在开发一款 AI 语音应用，目标是淘汰键盘。在我看来，这个项目不仅荒唐，更令人不安。

A Toronto startup wants to make the keyboard obsolete. That idea makes me angry.

我目前正在撰写回忆录，无法想象唾沫星子飞溅地对着麦克风回忆人生过往，然后希冀由一款 AI 应用把那些支离破碎的口语片段整理成工整的句子，最后能编辑成一本章节有秩的书。

As someone currently writing a memoir, I cannot imagine speaking my life story into a microphone—spit flying—while hoping an AI app will transform those fragmented spoken thoughts into polished sentences and, ultimately, a coherent book with carefully structured chapters.

写作不仅仅是把各种想法记录下来，写作本身就是思考的过程。我回忆录中一些最让我满意的段落，并不是一股脑自然流淌出来的，而是在反复斟酌中慢慢成形的，删去苍白无力的词语，重新调整段落顺序，苦苦寻找最准确的表达，并一遍遍修改，直到它终于恰到好处。这种反复推敲的过程看似低效，却恰恰是创作不可或缺的一部分。

Writing is not merely a way to record thought. Writing is thought. Some of the most meaningful lines in my memoir did not arrive in a smooth stream of consciousness. They emerged through hesitation, deleting weak phrases, reordering paragraphs, searching for the exact word, and rewriting a sentence five times until it finally felt right. That struggle is not inefficiency. It is creation.

然而，在这场 AI 狂热中，人类一切需要思考、费力和反复推敲的努力都被视为大敌，并势以高效，便捷，方便的人工智能将其取代。

Yet the new religion of AI worship treats friction as the enemy. Faster is always better. More convenience is always progress.

我并非恐惧科技,反科学之人。和千千万万人一样，我也曾满怀热情地拥抱 GPS 技术。每当我探索陌生的森林小径时，它成了我最值得信赖的向导。起初，随身携带GPS向导的确实令人如释重负，再不必担心迷路，也不必焦虑找不到回家的出口。

I am no technophobe. Like millions of others, I embraced GPS enthusiastically. It became my trusted guide when I explored unfamiliar forest trails. At first, it felt liberating. No fear of getting lost. No anxiety about finding my way back.

但渐渐地，一种潜在的变化令我不安：我对周围环境不再那么关注。

But gradually, I noticed something unsettling. I stopped paying attention.

我不再记得林间小径的曲折转弯，也不再留意沿途的树木标志。若迎面碰上一位带着狂吼乱叫的狗，我甚至失去了提前规划撤离路线的本能。就连那种偶尔轻微迷路时的小小刺激，以及最终靠自己找回原路的释然解脱感，也一并消失了。

I no longer remembered the twists and turns of the trail. I stopped noticing landmarks. I lost the instinct to plan escape routes if an aggressive dog owner approached. Even the small thrill of getting slightly lost, along with the satisfaction of finding my own way back, disappeared.

某些研究发现，过度依赖 GPS 会削弱我们对地域的认知能力，因为它减少了我们对大脑海马体的运用。海马体是大脑中负责导航与记忆的重要区域。海马体功能减弱，已被认为与多种神经系统及心理健康问题风险上升有关，包括阿尔茨海默症和抑郁症。

Some researchers have warned that overreliance on GPS may weaken our cognitive mapping abilities by reducing how much we engage the hippocampus, the part of the brain crucial for navigation and memory. Reduced hippocampal function has been linked to elevated risks of neurological and mental health conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease and depression.

因此，AI的便利是以大脑的智商为代价的。

Convenience, it turns out, can come with hidden cognitive costs.

但GPS 并非唯一改变人类认知能力的A I 应用。《环球邮报》报道的这家多伦多初创公司，野心勃勃地要让键盘退出历史舞台的语音输入AI，其卖点是用户口述速度可达打字两倍以上。

But GPS is not the only technology altering our cognitive habits. The Toronto startup featured in The Globe is building an AI dictation app, Superwhisper, around a bold goal: making the keyboard obsolete, while touting users who can dictate at more than twice the speed they type.

但速度翻倍是创造了双倍的智慧，还是双倍的垃圾？

But does twice the speed produce twice the wisdom, or simply double the garbage?

说话与写作，本质上是两种完全不同的思维活动。说话往往情绪先行、即时反应、带有跳跃式联想；而写作则要求章法、思考与结构。写作迫使我们梳理思路，检验逻辑，沉淀情绪，并清理思维中的模糊与含混。键盘不是仅仅是输入的载体，而是思维的载体。

Speech and writing are fundamentally different acts. Speech is emotional, immediate and associative. Writing is disciplined, deliberate and structured. Writing forces us to organize thoughts, test logic, refine emotion and confront vagueness. A keyboard is not merely an input device. It is an instrument of thinking.  

AI 承诺替我们消除许多任务中的痛苦与麻烦。但轻松并不总意味着进步。人生中许多真正有意义的满足感，往往正来自未知，努力和拼搏：探索陌生的地方，解决棘手的问题，把一句话反复修改，直到它终于唱出应有的旋律。

AI promises to remove pain from many tasks. But pain, effort and uncertainty are often where meaning is found. Human satisfaction frequently comes from precisely those struggles: exploring unfamiliar places, solving difficult problems, crafting a sentence until it finally sings.

GPS 虽对人类认知能力不利，但起码它能帮我们找到回家的路。语言输入AI 却远没那么诱人：那一点点的便利是以我们写作中的批判思考、逻辑推敲与严峻语言为代价的。而且，我可以随时选择不用GPS, 但如果这款AI被市场接受，推广，我将永远失去键盘，想用也用不了了。

GPS may compromise some cognitive skills, but at least it helps us find our way home. Dictation AI offers a far less compelling bargain: a little convenience in exchange for the discipline of writing, critical thinking, logical reasoning and linguistic precision. And unlike GPS, which I can switch off whenever I choose, I may not be able to reclaim my keyboard once technology pushes it into obsolescence.

我欢迎那些能够拯救生命、提升残障人士生活质量，或替人类承担危险且枯燥重复劳动的 AI。 但我绝不会把我的键盘拱手让给一家靠兜售“便利”牟利的 AI 初创公司。AI 公司的盈利，不应以削弱人类的思考能力为代价。

I welcome AI that saves lives, expands accessibility and relieves dangerous drudgery. But I will not surrender my keyboard to a profit-driven startup selling convenience while quietly teaching us to think less.