这一概念是相对于第一机器时代而言的。计算机的诞生和广泛应用是第二机器时代来临的标志；基于软件发展的各类商业活动将成为未来创新突破的主要力量；认知技术和自动化将使人力和软件驱动的机器互为替代，而非互补。

数字技术之于人类智力，相当于工业革命时期蒸汽机及相关技术对人类肌肉的解放。数字技术让我们能很快克服多种局限，以前所未有的速度开拓很多新领域。其影响力不可小觑，但具体会发生什么尚不能确定。

 正如蒸汽机经过了几十年的改良才终于促成工业革命，数字技术的完善同样也需要时间。计算机和机器人会不断进化，以惊人的速度学习新事物。这正是引发我们思考的原因，我们正处于所谓“第二个机器时代”的黎明时分。

Digital technologies are doing for human brainpower what the steam engine and related technologies did for human muscle power during the Industrial Revolution. They’re allowing us to overcome many limitations rapidly and to open up new frontiers with unprecedented speed. It’s a very big deal. But how exactly it will play out is uncertain.

 Just as it took decades to improve the steam engine to the point that it could fuel the Industrial Revolution, it’s taking time to refine digital technologies. Computers and robots will keep evolving and will learn to do new things at an amazing pace. That’s why we’re at an inflection point today, at the dawn of what we call the Second Machine Age.           

《第二机器时代与经济“大脱节”》

2015年6月刊

“The Great Decoupling: An Interview with Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee”

by Amy Bernstein and Anand Raman