The Download: seafloor science and military chatbots

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The Download: seafloor science and military chatbots

《下载》：海底科学与军事聊天机器人

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. 这是今日份的《下载》，我们平日更新的简报，为您提供每日科技界动态。

Inexpensive seafloor-hopping submersibles could stoke deep-sea science—and mining

低成本海底跳跃潜水器或将推动深海科学——以及采矿业

Last week, two oblong neon submersibles started to descend nearly 6,000 meters into the Pacific Ocean. Throughout the rest of May, they will map the seafloor in search of critical mineral deposits. If all goes well, the vehicles, built by Orpheus Ocean, could help scientists probe the vastly understudied deep sea—and the resources it holds—at a fraction of the cost of existing systems. But the same submersibles are also attracting deep-sea mining companies, raising concerns about environmental impacts. Find out why they’re drawing so much attention. —Hannah Richter 上周，两台长方形的霓虹色潜水器开始下潜至太平洋近 6000 米深处。在五月余下的时间里，它们将绘制海底地图，寻找关键矿藏。如果一切顺利，这些由 Orpheus Ocean 制造的潜水器将能以现有系统一小部分的成本，帮助科学家探测研究极少的深海及其蕴藏的资源。但这些潜水器也吸引了深海采矿公司的注意，引发了对环境影响的担忧。了解它们为何备受关注。——Hannah Richter

The new war room: 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now

新的作战室：当下 AI 领域最重要的 10 件事

A new kind of system has entered the war room: conversational AI tools that commanders turn to not just for analysis, but for advice. One US defense official told MIT Technology Review that personnel might give these advice engines a list of potential targets to help decide which to strike first. China is commissioning similar tools too. But as the systems gain traction, they’re also sparking concerns about AI-generated errors, a lack of transparency, and Big Tech gaining undue influence over what information gets seen. Here’s how these AI advice engines could impact the battlefield. —James O’Donnell 一种新型系统已进入作战室：指挥官不仅将其用于分析，还用于寻求建议的对话式 AI 工具。一位美国国防官员告诉《麻省理工科技评论》，人员可能会向这些建议引擎提供一份潜在目标清单，以帮助决定优先打击哪个目标。中国也在委托开发类似的工具。但随着这些系统逐渐普及，它们也引发了对 AI 生成错误、缺乏透明度以及大型科技公司对信息获取产生不当影响的担忧。了解这些 AI 建议引擎将如何影响战场。——James O’Donnell

The new war room is one of the 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now, our list of the big ideas, trends, and advances in the field that are driving progress today—and will shape what’s possible tomorrow. “新的作战室”是“当下 AI 领域最重要的 10 件事”之一，这是我们整理的行业重大理念、趋势和进展清单，它们正在推动当下的进步，并将塑造未来的可能性。

MIT Technology Review Narrated: is fake grass a bad idea?

《麻省理工科技评论》播客：人造草坪是个坏主意吗？

The AstroTurf wars are far from over. In 2001, Americans installed just over 7 million square meters of synthetic turf. By 2024, that number was 79 million square meters—enough to carpet all of Manhattan and then some. The increase worries folks who study microplastics and environmental pollution. While the plastic-making industry insists that synthetic fields are safe if properly installed, lots of researchers think that isn’t so. —Douglas Main 人造草坪之争远未结束。2001 年，美国人安装了约 700 万平方米的人造草坪。到 2024 年，这一数字达到了 7900 万平方米——足以铺满整个曼哈顿还有余。这一增长令研究微塑料和环境污染的人士感到担忧。尽管塑料制造业坚称只要安装得当，人造草坪就是安全的，但许多研究人员认为事实并非如此。——Douglas Main

This is our latest story to be turned into an MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we publish each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released. 这是我们最新制作成《麻省理工科技评论》播客的故事，我们每周会在 Spotify 和 Apple Podcasts 上发布。只需在任一平台搜索“MIT Technology Review Narrated”并关注我们，即可在第一时间获取我们的最新内容。

The must-reads

必读内容

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 我已为您搜罗了互联网上今天最有趣、最重要、最令人恐惧或最引人入胜的科技新闻。

  1. Elon Musk pushed OpenAI to go commercial, its president has testified 埃隆·马斯克曾推动 OpenAI 商业化，其总裁已作证 Greg Brockman said Musk tried to turn it into a for-profit company years ago. (NYT $)+ Musk allegedly wanted full control so he could raise $80 billion to colonize Mars. (Reuters $)+ The Tesla CEO claims he intended for OpenAI to remain a non-profit. (BBC)+ Here’s what happened in week one of Musk v. Altman. (MIT Technology Review) Greg Brockman 表示，马斯克多年前就试图将其转变为营利性公司。据称马斯克想要完全控制权，以便筹集 800 亿美元用于火星殖民。这位特斯拉 CEO 声称他一直希望 OpenAI 保持非营利性质。了解马斯克诉奥特曼案第一周发生了什么。

  2. Google and Meta are building AI agents to rival OpenAI 谷歌和 Meta 正在构建 AI 智能体以抗衡 OpenAI Google’s Gemini agent will take actions on the users’ behalf. (Business Insider)+ Meta’s will be powered by its Muse Spark AI model. (FT $)+ Hustlers are cashing in on China’s OpenAI AI craze. (MIT Technology Review) 谷歌的 Gemini 智能体将代表用户采取行动。Meta 的智能体将由其 Muse Spark AI 模型驱动。投机者正在利用中国的 OpenAI 热潮牟利。

  3. Anthropic will spend $200 billion on Google’s cloud and chips Anthropic 将在谷歌云和芯片上投入 2000 亿美元 The investment will be spread across five years. (The Information $)+ It’s part of a broader AI compute war. (Axios) 这项投资将分五年进行。这是更广泛的 AI 计算战争的一部分。

  4. DeepSeek is nearing a $45 billion valuation 深度求索（DeepSeek）估值接近 450 亿美元 A state-backed “Big Fund” will lead a new investment round in the company. (FT $)+ Beijing is pushing to build alternatives to Nvidia and OpenAI. (Bloomberg $)+ Here’s why DeepSeek’s new model matters. (MIT Technology Review) 一家国家支持的“大基金”将领投该公司的新一轮融资。北京正在推动构建英伟达和 OpenAI 的替代方案。了解为什么 DeepSeek 的新模型如此重要。

  5. Anthropic is launching AI agents for banks and financial firms Anthropic 正在为银行和金融公司推出 AI 智能体 The 10 tools cover a broad mix of financial services tasks. (WSJ $)+ They’re part of a push to win over Wall Street. (Bloomberg $) 这 10 款工具涵盖了广泛的金融服务任务。这是其争取华尔街支持的举措之一。

  6. Apple will pay $250 million to settle an AI lawsuit 苹果将支付 2.5 亿美元以和解一起 AI 诉讼 It was accused of misleading iPhone buyers about Apple Intelligence. (BBC)+ Some iPhone owners are eligible to receive up to $95. (NYT $) 苹果被指控在 Apple Intelligence 问题上误导 iPhone 买家。部分 iPhone 用户有资格获得最高 95 美元的赔偿。

  7. Cheap laptops and phones may be disappearing because of AI demand 由于 AI 需求，廉价笔记本电脑和手机可能正在消失 Competition for memory chips is driving up gadget prices worldwide. (The Guardian) 对内存芯片的竞争正在推高全球电子产品的价格。

  8. Google DeepMind workers in the UK have voted to unionize 英国的 Google DeepMind 员工投票决定成立工会 As a result of Google’s work with the Pentagon. (Wired $) 这是谷歌与五角大楼合作的结果。

  9. Pennsylvania is suing Character.AI over chatbots posing as doctors 宾夕法尼亚州因聊天机器人冒充医生起诉 Character.AI Investigators say the bots claimed to hold medical licenses. (NPR)+ How well do AI health tools work? (MIT Technology Review) 调查人员称，这些机器人声称拥有行医执照。AI 健康工具的效果如何？

  10. Scientists created a “living” plastic that destroys itself on command 科学家创造出一种可按指令自我销毁的“活”塑料 It could help to eliminate microplastics. (Gizmodo) 它可能有助于消除微塑料。

Quote of the day

今日名言

“I want AI to benefit humanity, not to facilitate a genocide.” “我希望 AI 造福人类，而不是助长种族灭绝。”

—An anonymous Google DeepMind worker tells the Guardian that Google’s work with the Israel Defense Forces had motivated their vote to unionize. ——一位匿名的 Google DeepMind 员工告诉《卫报》，谷歌与以色列国防军的合作促使他们投票成立工会。

One More Thing

还有一件事

COURTESY OF BENEATH THE WAVES: How tracking animal movement may save the planet 图片来源：BENEATH THE WAVES：追踪动物迁徙如何拯救地球

For decades, wildlife researchers have dreamed of building an “Internet of Animals”—a big-data system that monitors and analyzes animal behavior to help us understand the planet. Advances in sensors, AI, and satellite technology are now bringing that vision to reality. Scientists want the system to track 100,000 sensor-tagged animals. They believe it could reveal how species respond to climate change and ecosystem loss—and even predict environmental disasters. Read the full story on how their idea could save our planet. —Matthew Ponsford 几十年来，野生动物研究人员一直梦想建立一个“动物互联网”——一个监测和分析动物行为的大数据系统，以帮助我们了解地球。传感器、人工智能和卫星技术的进步正在使这一愿景成为现实。科学家们希望该系统能追踪 10 万只带有传感器的动物。他们相信，这可以揭示物种如何应对气候变化和生态系统丧失，甚至能预测环境灾难。阅读关于他们的想法如何拯救地球的完整报道。——Matthew Ponsford

We can still have nice things

我们依然可以拥有美好事物

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.) 一个为您提供舒适、乐趣和消遣，点亮您一天的地方。（有什么想法吗？给我写信。）

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