Newsletter No. 527

09 # 5 2 7 | 1 9 . 1 1 . 2 0 1 8 科技的前路 An Engineer’s Peep into the Unknown 善衡書院院長、卓敏信息工程學研究教授 黃永成 教授，視工程學為一門人類如何把資源最 理想地化為己用的科學，而科技則是達致這個化為己用的手段或工具。 以上定義中的資源也包括信息。自古以來，人類頗懂得利用信息來達到不同目的。中國的萬 里長城，部分建成於公元前七世紀，堅厚的城牆除了可以抵禦外敵外，城樓其實也可用來 以煙火傳遞軍事信息。 工業社會不斷編織及改良連接人與人的羅網。電話之後出現電視，近年的萬維網則基本上 是一個電腦，甚至是手機或平板電腦的網絡。 黃教授對科技的未來，或是科技扮演重要角色的未來世界，基本上抱持樂觀態度。但他也 非常關注科技發展若缺少社會、道德、法律方面的監管，會對一般市民的日常生活造成不良 影響。網絡欺凌和侵犯私隱便是網絡世界缺乏有效制衡因而失控的例子。 不加約制的科技發展可能會取代人類的判斷及社會責任。舉例說，人工智能及機器學習的 進步一日千里，無人汽車最終有日會取代人類駕駛者，但交通意外相信不會絕跡，要解決 因之而起的賠償責任問題，需要從道德、法律以至經濟多角度思考。沒有全盤及負責任的指 引，可能出現科技反客為主的危機。 黃教授認 為 大學教育的意義，在於教導學生如何面對這些不斷衍生的複雜問題，從而制訂 一套管控科技巨輪的機制。如何最理想地化資源為己用，畢竟也視乎人類的智慧。 According to Prof. Wong Wing-shing , Master of S.H. Ho College and Choh-ming Li Research Professor of Information Engineering, engineering is the optimal conversion of resources for human use. Technology is the means or the tool to achieve that optimal conversion. In the above definition, resources include information which is as vital and tangible as water and air. Since antiquity, human beings have been very adept at organizing information for different purposes. The Great Wall of China, parts of which were built as early as the seventh century BC, served as a network of signalling towers in addition to a defence bulwark at a time when military information travelled by means of, among other things, smoke. Industrial societies continuously spawn and refine means of connecting people with increasingly sophisticated networks of information. After the telephone there came the television, and in recent decades the worldwide web is essentially a network of computers, or mobile devices in recent years. Professor Wong is generally sanguine about the future of technology or the world in which technology plays an increasingly larger role. But he is also concerned that technological changes might bring about unanticipated consequences which, without the appropriate social, ethical and legal safeguards, may adversely impact on the daily lives of ordinary citizens. Cyberbullying and threats to privacy are examples of a rampant but unregulated connectedness in the cyber world. Untamed technological development may threaten to replace human judgments and societal responsibilities. For example, advances in AI and machine learning are being made in big strides every day and driverless cars may one day replace human drivers. Yet it is unlikely that accidents will disappear and resolving the liability issues arising therefrom requires careful considerations from all ethical, legal, and economic angles. In the absence of collective, conscientious steering, there is a real danger that technology will become the master instead of serving as a tool. Professor Wong sees it as a responsibility of universities to prepare their students for these evolving and complex issues so that they can engage effectively in the harnessing of the increasingly powerful tool of Technology. Optimal conversion, after all, is a measure of human intelligence. T.C. 字 裏 科 技 / T ech T alks 啡香氤氳 The Crema Revolution 北角有一家精品咖啡店Brew Note，店主 洪嘉偉 除了重視咖啡質素，也精心形塑咖啡店的 格調，去年曾與中大政治與行政學系 周保松 教授在店內舉辦文化沙龍。店主於8月在龐萬倫 學生中心開設分店Paper&Coffee，聞說午飯時間時常滿座，我決定在下午茶時段走一趟。 甫走進Paper&Coffee，簡約精緻的室內設計即映入眼簾。在長吧枱的一端，有一座虹吸式咖 啡壺，顧客可以安坐高櫈，欣賞咖啡師的沖煮技藝；最特別的是榻榻米平台，這在本地咖啡 店十分罕見，顧客脫鞋後，盤腿坐墊上，可一邊飲咖啡，一邊欣賞旁邊落地玻璃上的手寫詩。 顧盼四周，不難發現店主刻意塑造交流空間，無論是榻榻米或是卡座，都是四人座位，同學 可以討論課業，或隨意坐在一角品味咖啡。店主曾言，品味是在年輕時培養的，這讓我想起 當年負笈多倫多大學深造的經歷。有天下着雪，我哆嗦着走到校內咖啡店點了人生第一杯 熱mocha，自此習慣在啡香氤氳和音樂悠揚的空間整頓思緒。 我今次依舊點了一杯熱mocha，第一口便發現咖啡的基底很特別，看一看餐單上的介紹，原 來他們以帶明亮果酸和榛子風味的espresso作基底，再注入跟朱古力粉一起打熱的牛奶。 口中綿綿的朱古力奶味，與回甘的榛果味配合得恰好。再喝一口，咖啡表面的花樣圖案依然 保持原狀，看來咖啡師的拉花手藝不錯。 看着同伴細味虹吸式咖啡，我在想，中大人是幸福的。同學能夠在追趕學習進度時，走進這 空間歇歇腳，嗅嗅淺炒咖啡豆的香味，看看咖啡師專注沖煮咖啡，與同伴聊聊天，或者乾脆 拿起咖啡杯，離開店舖往窗外看看未圓湖。如此的人文景緻，唯中大獨有。 Brew Note Coffee Roaster is a specialty café in North Point. The owner Vincent Hung values coffee quality and strives to shape its brand identity. Last year, he co-organized a cultural salon with Prof. Chow Po-chung of CUHK’s Department of Government and Public Administration. This August, he opened a new branch Paper&Coffee at the Pommerenke Student Centre. As it could get quite crowded at lunch time, I decided to pay a visit at tea time. Entering Paper&Coffee, I first noticed the simplistic and elegant interior design. There was a syphon coffee maker at the end of the bar counter. Clients could sit back appreciating the aproned barista’s brewing technique. I was attracted to the tatami platform which is rare in local cafés. Having removed their shoes, the clients sat cross-legged on the mats enjoying coffee and reading a poem handwritten on the glass wall nearby. I discovered the thoughtfulness of the owner in providing a space for dialogue. Both booth and tatami seating accommodate four people. Students can discuss classwork with their mates or sit alone at the corner. The owner once said, ‘Fine taste should be cultivated young.’ It aroused my memory of studying at the University of Toronto. It was snowing. I shivered in the piercing cold and entered a campus café to order my very first cup of mocha. Since then I have been used to combing my thoughts in a café filled with brewing aroma and melodious music. I ordered a cup of hot mocha as usual. Amazed by the coffee base after my first sip, I immediately read the introduction on the menu and learnt that they brew the espresso with notes of citrus acidity and hazelnut flavour, before processing cocoa powder with steamed milk. The creamy rich cocoa worked perfectly well with the hazelnut scent. I took another sip. The floral cream on the surface still remained intact, no doubt due to the latte art of the barista. Looking at my companion enjoying his cup of syphoned coffee, I felt the bliss as part of the CUHK community. The specialty café can be a comfort zone for the restless souls catching up with their learning progress, where they can enjoy the scent of light-roast coffee beans, appreciate the brewing of the barista and chit-chat with their mates. Or they can simply leave the café with a cup of coffee and look at Lake Ad Excellentiam leaning at the window. Such a humanistic landscape is the privilege of our community. J. Lau 藝 士 匹 靈 / ARTS pirin Source: Paper&Coffee