Norbert Wiener was one of the first, and most enthusiastic, champions of automation and machine intelligence. But the father of cybernetics, as he was known, was convinced of the continuing value of humans in a more mechanised world.

诺伯特•维纳(Norbert Wiener)是自动化和机器智能的最早也是最热烈的拥护者之一。但人称“控制论之父”的维纳确信，人类在一个更机械化的世界中仍有长久不衰的价值。

In a book published in 1950 called The Human Use of Human Beings, Wiener argued that automation could deliver huge gains to society. But it must only be used for “the benefit of man, for increasing his leisure and enriching his spiritual life, rather than merely for profits and the worship of the machine”.

在1950年出版的一本名为《人有人的用处：控制论与社会》(The Human Use of Human Beings)的书中，维纳认为自动化可以为社会带来巨大好处。但它必须只用于“对人有益的、增加他们闲暇和丰富他们精神生活的地方，而不仅仅是为了利润和对机器的崇拜”。

Wiener’s words should echo around our heads as we contemplate the increasing use of technology in so many areas of our society, especially in “soft” sectors such as education. There is no doubt that technology can play a massive role in augmentingand amplifying human skills. But we must never lose sight of the human.

当考虑到科技被越来越多地运用于我们社会的诸多领域，尤其是在教育等“软”领域，维纳的话应该在我们脑中回响。毫无疑问，科技在增强和扩充人类技能方面能发挥重大作用。但我们绝不能忽视人类。

A report from the OECD last month on education highlights the irreplaceable role of teachers even as the use of technology spreads in the classroom. If we want top quality education, there is no substitute for recruiting, developing and retaining top quality teachers. But all too often they are overstretched, underpaid and disempowered.

经济合作与发展组织(OECD)近期关于教育的一份报告强调了教师的不可替代作用，即便科技在教室中使用渐广。如果我们想要高质量的教育，那么，没有什么东西能替代对高素质教师的招聘、培养和留用。但他们往往是超负荷、低薪资和缺少自主权的。

We are already in danger of creating “industrial” school systems, the authors note, in which teachers are reduced to near-automatons, implementing a preive model of education and ticking boxes. “Those trained only to reheat pre-cooked hamburgers are unlikely to become master chefs,” in the words of Andreas Schleicher, the OECD’s director for education and skills. The solution, if there is one, is to devolvemore autonomy to motivated teachers working in collaborative schools.

作者指出，我们已经面临着创建“工业化”学校系统的危险，即让教师沦为“类机器人”，以实施一种灌输和打勾填表式的教育范式。用经合组织教育与技术总监安德烈亚斯•施莱歇尔(Andreas Schleicher)的话说：“那些只接受了重新加热预煮汉堡包之类培训的人，不太可能成为主厨。”解决方案(如果有的话)是将更多的自主权赋予那些在有协作精神的学校工作的有主动性的教师。