The Download: record-breaking subsea tunnels and flexible data centers

《下载》：破纪录的海底隧道与灵活的数据中心

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。

Inside the world’s deepest and longest subsea road tunnel —Niall Firth 走进世界上最深、最长的海底公路隧道 —— 奈尔·弗斯 (Niall Firth)

I’m currently around 1,000 feet beneath the North Sea, in a dark, dank cave. It smells weird. And I’m increasingly aware of the pressure from millions of tons of seawater just above my head. I’m under the iconic fjords of Norway to visit what will soon become the world’s longest and deepest subsea road tunnel—an exceptional engineering feat that will carry drivers deep beneath the North Sea. I’m here to understand how you make a 16.6-mile highway that sits 1,280 feet below the sea at its deepest point. And also—at a time when it can feel hard to get anything done—to reassure myself that ambitious engineering is still possible. That we can still make things. Step inside Norway’s Rogfast tunnel and see how engineers are making it happen. This story is from the next edition of our magazine, which is all about engineering. Subscribe now to get a copy when it lands on Wednesday! 我目前身处北海下方约 1000 英尺处，在一个阴暗潮湿的洞穴里。这里气味怪异。我愈发感受到头顶上方数百万吨海水带来的压力。我正位于挪威标志性的峡湾之下，探访即将成为世界上最长、最深的海底公路隧道——这是一项非凡的工程壮举，将载着驾驶者深入北海海底。我来到这里，是为了了解如何建造一条全长 16.6 英里、最深处位于海平面以下 1280 英尺的高速公路。同时，在这样一个似乎很难成就任何事情的时代，我也想让自己确信：雄心勃勃的工程依然可行，我们依然能够创造奇迹。走进挪威的 Rogfast 隧道，看看工程师们是如何实现这一目标的。本文节选自我们下一期的杂志，该期主题正是工程学。立即订阅，即可在周三收到最新刊物！

Want to get a data center online quickly? Give it some flex. The AI boom is putting unprecedented pressure on the electric grid. But rather than rushing to build new power plants, companies could find part of the solution right under our noses—or, more precisely, in the transmission lines under our feet and above our heads. If data centers can limit the power they draw during high-demand stretches, they won’t need to wait for big infrastructure upgrades or build their own off-grid generation. The idea of flexibility isn’t entirely foreign to grid operators. But a new generation of software could make the process faster, smarter, and more precise for the AI era. Find out how the challenge of powering AI could lead to a smarter, more flexible grid. —Amos Zeeberg 想要快速上线数据中心？给它一点“灵活性”。人工智能的繁荣给电网带来了前所未有的压力。但与其匆忙建设新的发电厂，企业或许能在眼皮底下找到部分解决方案——更准确地说，是在我们脚下和头顶的输电线中。如果数据中心能在用电高峰期限制其电力消耗，它们就不必等待大型基础设施升级，也不必建立自己的离网发电系统。对于电网运营商来说，“灵活性”的概念并不陌生。但新一代软件可以让这一过程在人工智能时代变得更快、更智能、更精确。了解人工智能供电的挑战如何推动电网变得更智能、更灵活。——阿莫斯·泽伯格 (Amos Zeeberg)

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. 我已梳理了互联网，为您找出今天最有趣、最重要、最令人恐惧或最引人入胜的科技新闻。

SK Hynix has overtaken Samsung as South Korea’s most valuable company. It’s also now the world’s most valuable memory chipmaker.
SK 海力士已超越三星，成为韩国市值最高的公司。它现在也是全球市值最高的存储芯片制造商。
Trump says he no longer views Anthropic as a national security threat. “Well, not now, but a week ago, maybe,” he told The Axios Show.
特朗普表示，他不再将 Anthropic 视为国家安全威胁。“嗯，现在不是了，但一周前或许是，”他在接受《Axios Show》采访时说道。
SpaceX has received the lowest possible ESG rating. Index provider MSCI gave the company a triple C.
SpaceX 获得了最低的 ESG 评级。指数提供商 MSCI 给该公司评为 CCC 级。
A Tesla on Autopilot allegedly crashed into a Texas home and killed a woman. The driver said his Tesla Model 3 was in self-driving mode.
一辆开启自动辅助驾驶功能的特斯拉据称撞入德克萨斯州的一处民宅，导致一名女性死亡。司机称其特斯拉 Model 3 当时处于自动驾驶模式。
Polymarket reportedly paid creators to post fake betting videos. Clips showed them winning big on bets they would have really lost.
据报道，Polymarket 付费请创作者发布虚假的投注视频。视频片段显示他们在实际上会输掉的赌注中赢了大钱。
Physicists have proposed that black holes don’t exist. They may be something much stranger: “gravastars.”
物理学家提出黑洞可能并不存在。它们可能是某种更奇怪的东西：“引力星”(gravastars)。
A daring space rescue mission is set to launch this week. A spacecraft will try to lift an observatory into a safer orbit.
一项大胆的太空救援任务定于本周发射。一艘航天器将尝试将一个天文台提升至更安全的轨道。
Nothing’s next budget phone has been cancelled due to “RAMageddon”. The company said memory prices pushed costs too high.
Nothing 的下一款廉价手机因“内存危机”(RAMageddon) 而被取消。该公司表示，内存价格导致成本过高。
A viral doomsday scenario aims to pierce Europe’s AI complacency. It envisions the US and China tearing Europe into pieces.
一个在网上疯传的末日预言旨在打破欧洲在人工智能领域的自满情绪。它设想了美国和中国将欧洲撕裂的场景。
Scientists have invented a way to brew espresso with ultrasonic waves. No hot water required.
科学家发明了一种利用超声波冲泡浓缩咖啡的方法。无需热水。

Quote of the day 今日金句

“Even before we start reaping the benefits of AI in our devices, we are already paying the bill.” —Francisco Jeronimo, an analyst at IDC, tells CNBC that consumers are covering the costs of the ongoing memory shortage. “甚至在我们开始从设备中的人工智能获益之前，我们已经在为此买单了。”——IDC 分析师弗朗西斯科·杰罗尼莫 (Francisco Jeronimo) 对 CNBC 表示，消费者正在承担持续的内存短缺带来的成本。

One More Thing 额外补充

How mobile money supercharged Kenya’s sports betting addiction. As the lorry he’d flagged down lurched through Kenya’s western highlands, Bill Kirwa’s Infinix smartphone dinged with a notification. The bet of 3,500 shillings he’d placed with mobile money—then worth approximately $35—had just turned into nearly $8,500. Kirwa, now 26, put the windfall to good use, purchasing a car that enabled him to drive for Wasili, an Uber-style ride-hailing service. But he continued gambling, and over time, his losses mounted. In just a few years, he’s effectively erased his big win. Kirwa’s experience is hardly unique. Across Africa, the rapid spread of smartphones and mobile money has fueled an explosion in online gambling. But nowhere is the craze as acute as it is in Kenya. Find out why. —Jonathan W. Rosen 移动支付如何加剧了肯尼亚的体育博彩成瘾。当比尔·基尔瓦 (Bill Kirwa) 拦下的卡车在肯尼亚西部高地颠簸行驶时，他的 Infinix 智能手机发出了一声通知提示音。他通过移动支付下注的 3500 先令（当时约合 35 美元）刚刚变成了近 8500 美元。现年 26 岁的基尔瓦很好地利用了这笔横财，买了一辆车，让他能够为类似优步的网约车服务 Wasili 开车。但他继续赌博，随着时间的推移，他的损失不断增加。短短几年内，他实际上已经输光了那笔大奖。基尔瓦的经历绝非个例。在整个非洲，智能手机和移动支付的迅速普及助长了在线赌博的爆发。但没有任何地方像肯尼亚这样疯狂。了解原因。——乔纳森·W·罗森 (Jonathan W. Rosen)

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. 一个为您提供舒适、乐趣和消遣，点亮您一天的地方。

A clever Bengal cat has seemingly learned to understand English—and talk back.
一只聪明的孟加拉猫似乎学会了听懂英语，甚至还能回话。
This list of the 100 greatest bird names lovingly captures the quirks of avian taxonomy.
这份“100 个最伟大的鸟类名称”列表深情地捕捉到了鸟类分类学的奇特之处。
Darth Vader’s weird chestplate transforms into a cassette player in these reworked Star Wars clips.
在这些重新剪辑的《星球大战》片段中，达斯·维达奇怪的胸甲变身成了卡带播放器。
Trace the history and evolution of heavy metal music through the interactive genres and playlists of Map of Metal.
通过“金属地图”(Map of Metal) 的互动流派和播放列表，追溯重金属音乐的历史与演变。