1180.经济学人-giants are getting harder to topple-1

Attend any business conference or open any management book and an encounter with some variation of the same message is almost guaranteed: the pace of change in business is accelerating, and no one is safe from disruption.

Recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) have left many corporate Goliaths nervously anticipatingDavid’s sling, and fearing the same fate as Kodak and Blockbuster, two giants felled by the digital revolution.

“The Innovator’s Dilemma”, a seminal book from 1997 by Clayton Christensen, a management guru, observed that incumbents hesitate to pursue radical innovations that would make their products or services cheaper or more convenient, for fear of denting the profitability of their existing businesses.

In the midst of technological upheaval, that creates an opening for upstarts unencumbered by such considerations.

Yet America Inc has experienced surprisingly little competitive disruption during the internet age. Incumbents appear to have become more secure, not less. And there is good reason to believe they will remain on their perches.

这是《经济学人》2023年8月刊的一篇文章'America’s corporate giants are getting harder to topple'第1、2段。

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'America’s corporate giants are getting harder to topple'是文章的标题，译作：美国企业巨头越来越难被推翻

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conference：会议

出席任何商业会议或者翻开任何一本管理书籍，绝对会遇到一些不同变体但意思相同的信息：商业变革的步伐正在加速，没有人能在这种破坏之中保持安全。

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anticipating：期盼

sling：投石器

近期发生在人工智能（AI）领域的突破让很多企业歌利亚（巨人）紧张地等待着大卫的投石器，并且担心会与柯达和百视达拥有一样的命运（这两家巨头都是在数字革命中倒下的）。

歌利亚，是传说中著名巨人之一，根据《圣经》记载，歌利亚是腓力斯丁人首席战士，因身高拥甚大，有无穷的力量，所有人看到他都要退避三舍，不敢应战。歌利亚最终被大卫用投石器杀死。

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seminal：影响深远的

guru：大师

incumbents：现任者

管理大师Clayton Christensen在1977年写了一本有深远影响的著作《创新者的窘境》，书中提到现任者因为担心损害他们已有的盈利能力，在追求能够让其产品或服务变得更便宜或便捷的创新方面犹豫不决。

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upheaval：巨变

unencumbered：无负担的

在技术变革中，这为不受此类考虑阻碍的初创公司创造了机会。

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perches：高座

然而，令人惊讶的是，美国公司在互联网时代几乎没有经历过竞争破坏。现任者似乎变得更加安全了，而不是更少。我们有充分的理由相信他们将继续保持领先地位。

词汇

conference：会议

anticipating：期盼

sling：投石器

seminal：影响深远的

guru：大师

incumbents：现任者

upheaval：巨变

unencumbered：无负担的

perches：高座