????他們并不僅僅是在討論打造國防部的防御體系。更重要的是，軍方想讓這些技術界的精英發揮最大的聰明才智，幫他們發動一場與常規戰爭迥異的戰爭，打擊一群無國別的敵人。這次會議啟動了一個機密項目，為此這些硅谷巨擘們要密切監視那些擁有潛在軍事應用的新興科技公司，把它們的情況及時匯報給軍方和情報部門的高層。

????關鍵在于要迅速完成漫長繁瑣的全部流程，從明確需求，到從零開始設計解決方案，再到呈現解決方案。一位與會者說：“為期18個月的‘提案請求’（request for proposal -RFP）過程并不會催生出創新方案。我們要實時解決問題，要讓那些初創公司中有著新奇想法的人和那些致力于保衛國家的人通力合作?！睍蟮娜昀铮@些大佬一再去華盛頓碰頭，同時把那些前景看好的創新項目提交給軍方代表，以及來自聯邦調查局（FBI）、中央情報局（CIA）和國家安全局（NSA）的代表。

????這些技術大佬表示，他們并不清楚這些做法后來到底執行情況如何，因為他們在提交方案后就基本對后續進展毫不知情了，也不清楚布林、佩奇和費羅在首次會議后又參加過哪些別的活動?？仆吣贩Q，有一次，立法機構聽到了有關該項目的風聲，打算提請國會進行監督，國防部于是暫緩了項目進程。2006年，該項目再次啟動，并命名為“防務風險催化行動”（Defense Venture Catalyst Initiative）——或簡稱為DeVenCI——但發起成員沒再繼續參與?？仆吣啡ツ陮ξ艺f：“他們給這個項目起了個縮寫名稱，并讓它成為整個監視行動的一部分。我們當時就說，‘這事肯定成不了。我覺得這不是什么好兆頭。它沒法實現當時定下的目標?！?/p>

????谷歌的一位發言人拒絕對此發表評論。截至發稿時，雅虎的一位代表也未做回應。而五角大樓的一位發言人則稱，DeVenCI項目去年9月就暫停了，因為政府支出削減計劃已在年度預算中取消了這個項目的400萬美元預算。

????鑒于國家安全局的棱鏡（PRISM）監聽計劃不久前被曝光，我們到底該如何看待這段歷史？這些科技公司的高管推薦新應用——不管是他們自己的，他們同業的，還是他們投資組合里的——與他們偷偷把用戶個人信息及通訊情況提交給監聽部門是完全不同的兩碼事。而我們也開始明白，隨著情報部門對硅谷的科技企業不斷施壓，迫使他們合作后，硅谷和華盛頓的關系也就變得日益復雜了。如今，這些科技公司的高管可能不再親自飛往華盛頓義務幫助政府了，但值得注意的是，這種合作的根基非常深厚，而且歷史悠久。（財富中文網）

????譯者：清遠

????They weren't just talking about building up Defense's defenses. More significant, the military wanted to squeeze the tech industry's brightest for help as they began a very different kind of war against a stateless enemy. The meeting launched a classified project for which the Silicon Valley chieftains scouted emerging technologies with potential military applications and reported them to military and intelligence agency leadership.

????The point was to end-run the lengthy bureaucratic process of identifying a need, designing a solution for it from scratch, and then bidding it out. "Innovation doesn't happen through 18-month RFPs," one participant said. "This was about real-time problems and getting people who had incredible ideas in early-stage companies together with the people who were trying to save our country." For the next three years, the group would reconvene in Washington and pitch promising innovations to representatives of the military branches, as well as the FBI, CIA, and NSA.

????The industry participants themselves say they don't know the full scope of what the effort yielded, because they were largely cut out of the loop after they presented. It is not clear how much Brin, Page, and Filo participated beyond the initial meeting. Kvamme said the Defense Department wound down the project once lawmakers got wind of it and wanted to subject it to Congressional oversight. It relaunched in 2006 under the moniker "Defense Venture Catalyst Initiative" -- DeVenCI for short -- but the founding members didn't rejoin. "The minute they gave it an acronym and made it part of the whole thing, we just said, 'This isn't going to work,'" Kvamme told me last year. "I just saw the writing on the wall. It wasn't going to be what it had been."

????A spokesperson for Google declined to comment. A Yahoo representative had not responded to requests for comment at press time. A Pentagon spokesperson says DeVenCI wound down in September of last year, after spending cuts eliminated the program's $4 million annual budget.

????What to make of this history in light of the recent disclosures about the NSA's PRISM program? There's a major difference between tech executives recommending new capabilities -- whether their own, their peers', or from their investment portfolios -- and secretly handing over users' personal data and communications. And as we're learning, the relationship between Silicon Valley and Washington has grown much more complicated as the intelligence agencies have increased the pressure on industry to cooperate. Tech executives may no longer be flying themselves across the country to volunteer their help, but it is worth noting the roots of the collaboration are both deep and lengthy.