The Download: worms fight pollution, and geoengineering faces reality

The Download: worms fight pollution, and geoengineering faces reality

《下载》:蚯蚓对抗污染,地球工程直面现实

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》,我们每日更新的简报,为您提供科技世界的每日动态。

Why worms (and microbes) are catching on as a manure pollution solution

为什么蚯蚓(和微生物)正成为解决粪便污染的新方案

Anthony Agueda, a third-generation California dairy farmer, pulls a rake through a bed of dark, wet wood chips to reveal a half-dozen squirming red earthworms. There are likely hundreds of thousands more wriggling just under the surface. The worms and microbes are part of a “vermifiltration” system that cleans manure wastewater. The approach may dramatically cut methane, nitrous oxide, and water pollution. Vermifiltration is just one of a variety of methods that farmers, companies, and scientists are employing to drive down manure pollution as the livestock industry faces growing pressure to address the environmental harms from one of the smelliest parts of the business. Explore how the humble earthworm could reshape the future of sustainable farming. —James Temple 加州第三代奶农安东尼·阿格达(Anthony Agueda)用耙子拨开一片潮湿阴暗的木屑床,露出了半打蠕动的红色蚯蚓。在表层之下,可能还有成千上万条蚯蚓在蠕动。这些蚯蚓和微生物是“蚯蚓过滤”系统的一部分,该系统用于净化粪便废水。这种方法有望大幅减少甲烷、氧化亚氮和水污染。随着畜牧业在处理行业中最“臭”环节所带来的环境危害方面面临越来越大的压力,农民、企业和科学家们正在采用多种方法来降低粪便污染,而蚯蚓过滤只是其中之一。探索卑微的蚯蚓如何重塑可持续农业的未来。——詹姆斯·坦普尔(James Temple)

MIT Technology Review Narrated: geoengineering gets a reality check

《麻省理工科技评论》播客:地球工程的现实检验

Solar geoengineering, the controversial idea that we could deliberately intervene in the climate system to counteract global warming, is moving beyond computer simulations and into the practical engineering challenges required to make it real. Researchers are now working on aircraft, materials, and other systems for solar geoengineering. But as they delve into these details, they’re finding that even early deployment would require significant new infrastructure, time, and investment. —James Temple 太阳能地球工程是一个充满争议的构想,即我们可以通过人为干预气候系统来抵消全球变暖。目前,该领域正从计算机模拟转向实现它所需的实际工程挑战。研究人员正在研发用于太阳能地球工程的飞机、材料和其他系统。但随着研究深入,他们发现即使是早期的部署,也需要大量新的基础设施、时间和投资。——詹姆斯·坦普尔(James Temple)


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. 我梳理了互联网,为您找出了今天最有趣、最重要、最令人担忧以及最引人入胜的科技新闻。

  1. The Trump administration has lifted restrictions on OpenAI’s GPT 5.6 特朗普政府解除了对 OpenAI GPT 5.6 的限制 The green light came after additional testing and meetings. (Axios) 在经过额外的测试和会议后,该项目获得了绿灯。(Axios)

  2. China is looking at curbing overseas access to its top AI models 中国正考虑限制海外访问其顶级人工智能模型 Alibaba, ByteDance, and Z.ai attended meetings about the plan. (Reuters) 阿里巴巴、字节跳动和零一万物(Z.ai)参加了关于该计划的会议。(路透社)

  3. European NATO allies have unveiled a $50 billion high-tech missile plan 欧洲北约盟国公布了一项 500 亿美元的高科技导弹计划 They will engineer stealth and high-speed hypersonic weapons. (BBC) 他们将研发隐身和高速高超音速武器。(BBC)

  4. Meta is testing “super sensing” AI glasses that record every moment Meta 正在测试能记录每一刻的“超级感知”AI 眼镜 It plans to disable privacy LEDs that alert people when they’re “on.” (FT) 该公司计划禁用在设备开启时提醒他人的隐私指示灯。(金融时报)

  5. China’s DeepSeek is developing its own AI chip, sources say 消息称中国深度求索(DeepSeek)正在开发自己的 AI 芯片 It could reduce the company’s reliance on Nvidia and Huawei. (Bloomberg) 这可能会减少该公司对英伟达和华为的依赖。(彭博社)

  6. Wikipedia is fighting to survive the internet’s next era 维基百科正在为在互联网的下一个时代生存而战 It’s under attack from MAGA, AI raids, and repressive regimes. (NYT) 它正受到“让美国再次伟大”(MAGA)运动、AI 抓取和压制性政权的攻击。(纽约时报)

  7. SpaceX plans to launch its first model coproduced with Cursor SpaceX 计划推出其与 Cursor 共同生产的首个模型 The new frontier model could arrive as soon as this week. (Information) 这个新的前沿模型最早可能在本周发布。(The Information)

  8. A new academic “humanizer” tool can erase signs of AI-written text 一种新的学术“人性化”工具可以抹除 AI 写作的痕迹 But researchers are very divided over its potential impact. (Nature) 但研究人员对其潜在影响存在严重分歧。(自然)

  9. Scientists have detected a mystery chemical on Pluto and Titan 科学家在冥王星和土卫六上探测到一种神秘化学物质 It appears to absorb light in a way we don’t currently understand. (Wired) 它似乎以一种我们目前无法理解的方式吸收光线。(连线)

  10. A Waymo robotaxi reportedly called the cops on drinking teens 据报道,一辆 Waymo 自动驾驶出租车因青少年饮酒而报警 Officers then approached the vehicle with guns drawn. (404 Media) 随后,警察拔枪接近了该车辆。(404 Media)


Quote of the day

今日金句

“Parents do you know where your teens are? Waymo does!” “家长们,你们知道你们的孩子在哪里吗?Waymo 知道!” —Local police post on Facebook that a Waymo in California called the cops on two teenagers for “drinking and shooting from the vehicle.” ——当地警方在 Facebook 上发帖称,加州的一辆 Waymo 因两名青少年“在车内饮酒并向外射击”而报了警。


One More Thing: Your boss is watching

额外关注:你的老板正在注视着你

Dora Manriquez has spent nine years driving for Uber and Lyft, where every ride she accepts or rejects is tracked by the apps she relies on for work. Having found herself unable to score enough better-paying rides, she has had to file for bankruptcy. App-based employers aren’t the only ones keeping a very close eye on workers today. Jobs today—whether in an office, a warehouse, or your car—can mean constant electronic surveillance with little transparency, and potentially with livelihood-ending consequences if your productivity flags. All that data is shifting the relationships between workers and managers—and protections are lagging. Read the full story on the widening power imbalance it’s created. —Rebecca Ackermann 多拉·曼里克斯(Dora Manriquez)为 Uber 和 Lyft 开了九年车,她接受或拒绝的每一单行程都被她赖以生存的应用程序追踪。由于无法获得足够的高薪订单,她不得不申请破产。如今,基于应用程序的雇主并不是唯一密切监视员工的群体。今天的工作——无论是在办公室、仓库还是车里——都可能意味着持续的电子监控,且缺乏透明度;如果你的生产力下降,还可能面临生计终结的后果。所有这些数据正在改变员工与管理者之间的关系,而相关的保护措施却滞后了。阅读关于这种日益扩大的权力失衡的完整报道。——丽贝卡·阿克曼(Rebecca Ackermann)