考研英语经济学人文章阅读训练2020022902

Rethinking how we value data

重新思考数据的价值

Looking at the world’s most precious resource through new eyes

用新的眼光去看待世界上最珍贵的资源

Everyone knows that data are worth something.The biggest companies in the world base their businesses on them.Artificial-intelligence algorithms guzzle them in droves.But data are not like normal traded goods and services,such as apples and haircuts.

每个人都知道数据是有价值的。世界上最大的公司都是以数据为基础开展业务的。人工智能算法正在大量使用数据。但数据与正常的商品和服务贸易（例如苹果和理发）有所不同。

They can be used time and again,like public goods.They also have spillover effects,both positive,such as helping to improve health care,and negative,such as breaches of personal information.That makes them far from easy to value.

数据就像公共物品一样可以被反复利用。它还具有溢出效应，既有正面影响（例如，有助于改善医疗保健），也有负面影响（例如，个人信息的泄露）。这就使得数据的价值很难被估量。

A new report,led by Diane Coyle,an economist at the University of Cambridge,attempts to address this by understanding the value of data and who stands to benefit from it.She says market prices often do not ascribe full value to data because,in many cases,trading is too thin.

由剑桥大学经济学家黛安·科伊尔主导的一份新的报告试图通过理解数据的价值以及谁将从中受益来解决这一问题。她表示，市场价格往往不能真实反映出数据的全部价值，因为在通常情况下，数据交易太过浅显。

Moreover,while much of society’s emphasis is on the dangers of misuse of personal data,the report chooses to highlight data’s contribution to “the broad economic well-being of all of society.”That gives it a much deeper value than a simple monetary one.

此外，虽然社会对于滥用个人数据的危害的重视程度很高，但这份报告还是强调了数据对于“全社会广泛的经济福祉”所做出的贡献。这赋予了数据除简单的货币价值外更深层次的价值。

She outlines a variety of data types and uses.Some may be more useful in aggregate,others for individual purposes.For example,a patient’s medical records may be most valuable when they are combined with everyone else’s,while web-browsing history has value when it is used individually to bombard a person with advertisements.

她概述了各种数据类型和用途。有些类型的数据可能聚合起来更有价值，而另一些则单独就有价值。例如，将一名患者的病历和其他所有患者的病历汇总在一起时，它或许才是最有价值的，而当利用一个人的网页浏览记录对其进行广告轰炸时，单独的数据就是有价值的。

Timeliness also matters:phone-location records flowing in real-time for a car GPS-navigation system are useful for ten minutes,while today’s retail-sales transactions help forecast next year’s demand.

数据的及时性也很重要：对于汽车GPS导航系统来说，手机实时定位记录仅在10分钟内是有价值的，而今天的零售交易记录对于预测明年的需求量是有价值的。

As yet the data economy does not distinguish such features well.Ms Coyle argues that a new mindset is needed,as well as institutions,such as data trusts,to ensure information is fairly distributed.

到目前为止，数据经济还未能很好地区分数据的这些特质。科伊尔认为，我们需要采用一种新的思维方式，并依托数据信托等机构，以确保信息的公平分配。

Personal information should not be regarded through the lens of “ownership”but“access rights,”she says.Hence,people may control how it is used,but should not treat it as a winning ticket to be monetised.她表示，我们不应该从“所有权”的角度来看待个人信息，而应该从“访问权”的角度来看待。因此，人们可以控制数据的使用方式，而不该将其视为一种货币化的中奖彩票。That should apply more broadly,she argues.For governments,the right strategy may be to make data freely accessible.Estimates for the value of open government data range from less than0.1%to more than7%of GDP.

她认为，这一点应该被广泛适用。对于政府来说，正确的策略或许应该是让数据能够被自由访问。对于政府公开数据价值的估量从不到GDP的0.1%到超过7%不等。Companies also should consider privileging access to personal data above ownership of it.Try telling that to the tech giants,though.However data are valued,they have no doubt about how valuable exclusive control is to them.公司还应该考虑将个人数据的访问权置于所有权之上。当然，你可以尝试将这一点告知科技巨头们。但无论数据价值几何，他们都不会怀疑独占数据对他们的重要性。(红色标注词为重难点词汇)