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At Callaway, the high-end golf-equipment stalwart, the process of making clubs has always been quite labor-intensive--
在高端高爾夫器材巨頭卡拉威，球桿的制作過程一直都是相當勞動密集型的——
from grinding and polishing clubheads to crafting wood-and-steel-shafted irons and wedges.
從研磨和拋光桿頭到手工制作木材和鋼軸柄的鐵桿和劈起桿。
The company has also long combined such artisanal handwork with technological innovation,
長久以來，該公司都將這種手工工藝與技術創新相結合，
even partnering with aerospace titan Boeing recently to codesign several aerodynamic clubs.
甚至近期還和航空巨頭波音公司合作設計了幾款空氣動力學球桿。
So when the company set out about four years ago to make its latest club line, called Epic Flash,
所以約四年前，當公司開始推出新款球桿線Epic Flash時，
it took the next evolutionary technological step, turning to artificial intelligence and machine learning for help.
它在技術上又進一步，轉向人工智能和機器學習尋求幫助。
A typical club-design process might involve five to seven physical prototypes; for Epic Flash, Callaway created 15,000 virtual ones.
一次標準的球桿設計過程可能涉及5到7個物理原型；為了Epic Flash，卡拉威創造了15000個虛擬物理原型。
From those, an algorithm determined the best design, selecting for peak performance--i.e., ball speed--
在這些原型中，算法根據最佳性能選擇最佳設計——例如，球速——
while also conforming to the rules set forth by the U.S. Golf Association.
同時也要遵守美國高爾夫球協會制定的規則。
Golf Digest gave the $530 Epic Flash driver a score of 20 out of 20 on its 2019 "Hot List," the only driver to earn that honor.
《高爾夫文摘》在其2019年“熱門榜單”上給了這款價值530美元的Epic Flash一號木20分，滿分20分，這是唯一一款獲此榮譽的一號木。
A human could not have achieved this kind of rapid iteration, or precision.
人類不可能達到這種快速迭代或精度。
The Epic Flash offers just a taste of the ways in which algorithm-driven design
由算法驅動的設計越來越普遍，甚至隨著時間的推移成為了一種常態，
could transform our planet as it becomes significantly more common and, in time, even the norm.
而Epic Flash只是讓我們體驗了一下這種設計改變世界的方式。
"With a precise idea of the conditions this thing I'm designing will see in real life, I can design it better,"
“對我設計的這個東西在現實生活中會看到的情況有一個精確的概念，我可以把它設計得更好，”
says Maurice Conti, chief innovation officer at Alpha, a Barcelona machine-learning firm and moonshot factory.
巴塞羅納機器學習公司兼登月計劃工廠Alpha的首席創新執行官Maurice Conti說到。
Though still nascent, artificial intelligence and machine learning are starting to alter our built world, from spatulas to skyscrapers,
盡管還處于萌芽階段，人工智能和機器學習正在改變我們建立的世界，從刮鏟到摩天大樓，
helping designers solve technical problems with unprecedented speed.
它們幫助設計師用前所未有的速度解決困難。
To understand the profound shift taking place, one need only consider that,
為了理解這種深刻轉變的發生，我們只需要考慮，
according to a new report from the UN's World Intellectual Property Organization,
根據英國世界知識產權組織的一份新報告，
more than 170,000 A.I. patents have been published worldwide since 2013, adding up to 50% of all patents in the field.
自2013年以來，全球公布的人工智能專利超過17萬項，占該領域專利總數的50%。
And in the context of design, as with most things related to A.I., the results have the potential to be both terrifying and exhilarating.
就設計而言，和大多數與人工智能相關的事物一樣，結果可能既可怕又令人興奮的。
There are many questions to ponder: What will the role of the designer be when algorithms can largely design for us?
有許多問題需要思考：當算法基本上可以為我們進行設計時，設計師將會是什么樣的角色？
Will the human hand (and heart) remain key to the process? At some point, will A.I. simply take over?
在設計的過程中，人類的雙手（和情感）仍然是關鍵嗎？在某種情況下，人工智能會直接接管嗎？
Will A.I. actually produce inspired design--or will it coldly prioritize cost efficiency at the expense of comfort, aesthetic pleasure, and practicality?
人工智能真的能夠生產出創新的設計——或者它會無情地為了成本效率而犧牲舒適、審美愉悅和實用性嗎？
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