Seeing Plural
看见多元
“In order to carry out a positive action we must develop here a positive vision… It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.” — Dalai Lama XIV
“为了采取积极行动，我们必须在这里发展积极的愿景……在最大的逆境中，存在着为自身和他人都做善事的最大潜力。”——达赖十四世
The advent of the internet unfurled the world. Beginning in the 1960s, this new technology created unprecedented possibilities to tie distant communities together across space and time. Knowledge transcended borders, spreading instantaneously across languages and cultures.
互联网的出现展现了世界。从20世纪60年代开始，这项新技术创造了前所未有的可能性，将遥远的社区跨越时空联系在一起。知识超越了国界，瞬间传播到不同的语言和文化中。
At the same time, globalization ushered in an era marked by increased disparities in wealth and social standing. The rapid evolution of digital technology fueled the rise of towering tech giants, which lured individuals into polarized enclaves.
与此同时，全球化开启了一个贫富差距和社会地位差距日益扩大的时代。数字技术的快速发展推动了科技巨头的崛起，这些巨头将个人吸引到两极分化的群体中。
The internet is a powerful technology for tying people together in new collaborations across vast differences. Unfortunately, it has also recently proven to be a powerful tool for thwarting those collaborations and sowing new forms of division.
互联网是一项强大的技术，可以将人们联系在一起，在巨大的差异中进行新的合作。不幸的是，它最近也被证明是阻止这些合作和播下新的分裂形式的有力工具。
It is no coincidence that democracy now finds itself at a low tide. Authoritarian regimes now command nearly half of the global GDP. Only a modest one billion people find solace under the umbrella of democratic systems, while over two billion dwell under authoritarian rule.[^VDem]
民主制度如今低迷并非巧合。威权政权如今掌控着全球近一半的GDP。只有大约十亿人生活在民主制度的庇护下，而超过二十亿人生活在威权统治之下。[^VDem]
[^VDem]: V-Dem Institute, Democracy Report 2023 (Gothenburg, Sweden: V-Dem Institute, 2023): 7.
[^VDem]: V-Dem研究所，《2023年民主报告》（瑞典哥德堡：V-Dem研究所，2023）：7。
Every culture, akin to a river, tells its own tale. We see the river of democracy as a conduit of hope. As its waters wane, we must replenish it.
每一种文化，如同一条河流，都在讲述着它自己的故事。我们将民主的河流视为希望的通道。随着它水位的下降，我们必须为它补充水源。
This book, a surging communal effort, is one attempt to restore the flow – and with it, hope.
这本书，是一项蓬勃发展的集体努力，是试图恢复水流——以及希望——的一次尝试。
In Mandarin, 數位 means both "digital" and "plural." To be plural is to be digital. To be digital is to be plural.
在中文里，“数位”既指“数字”，也指“多元”。多元即数字，数字即多元。
Plurality captures the symbiotic relationship between democracy and collaborative technology. Together, democracy and collaborative technology can power infinite diversity in infinite combinations.
多元性捕捉到了民主与协作技术之间的共生关系。民主与协作技术可以共同驱动无限多样性在无限组合中的发展。
Let's free the future — together.
让我们一起解放未来。