The Download: NASA’s new telescope and Chinese tech import curbs

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The Download: NASA’s new telescope and Chinese tech import curbs

《下载》：NASA 的新望远镜与中国科技进口限制

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。

NASA’s new dark energy space telescope can also detect killer asteroids

NASA 的新型暗能量太空望远镜也能探测“杀手级”小行星

At the end of August, NASA is set to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Its quest is to help us better understand how the universe works, from the glue-like dark matter that keeps galaxies together to the elusive dark energy that drives the expansion of the cosmos. But Roman could also serve another purpose: defending Earth from killer asteroids. In September, a multi-institutional team of planetary scientists and astronomers will outline how it’s uniquely placed to scan asteroids, and provide information about their trajectories, sizes and compositions. Read our story about how this new space telescope might boost planetary defense. —Robin George Andrews 8 月底，NASA 计划从佛罗里达州的肯尼迪航天中心发射“南希·格雷斯·罗曼太空望远镜”（Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope）。它的任务是帮助我们更好地理解宇宙的运作方式，从将星系维系在一起的“胶水”般的暗物质，到驱动宇宙膨胀的神秘暗能量。但“罗曼”望远镜可能还有另一个用途：保护地球免受“杀手级”小行星的威胁。9 月，一个由多机构组成的行星科学家和天文学家团队将概述该望远镜在扫描小行星方面的独特优势，并提供有关其轨道、大小和成分的信息。阅读我们的报道，了解这台新型太空望远镜如何助力行星防御。——Robin George Andrews

MIT Technology Review Narrated: The inevitable weakness of metrics —Bryan Gardiner

《麻省理工科技评论》播客：指标的必然弱点 ——Bryan Gardiner

There are plenty of useful things a metric can reveal. There are even more that it can obscure or corrupt. Like a lot of people bitten by the self-quantifying bug, I started gathering personal data to pursue a nebulous collection of goals and desires. I wanted to feel better physically and emotionally, get outside more, and bring order to the messiness and uncertainty of my daily existence. But external metrics and data can never capture what’s truly important. Worse, they inevitably redefine your core sense of what’s important, whether you’re aware of the trap or not. Read the full story. 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. 指标可以揭示许多有用的信息，但它能掩盖或扭曲的信息则更多。像许多热衷于“自我量化”的人一样，我开始收集个人数据，以追求一系列模糊的目标和愿望。我希望在身体和情感上感觉更好，多去户外走走，并为我日常生活的混乱和不确定性带来秩序。但外部指标和数据永远无法捕捉到真正重要的东西。更糟糕的是，无论你是否意识到这个陷阱，它们都会不可避免地重新定义你对“重要性”的核心认知。阅读全文。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，即可获取所有最新内容。

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. 我已梳理了互联网，为您找出今天最有趣、最重要、最令人担忧或最引人入胜的科技报道。

  1. The US is considering banning Chinese data center components The news comes just after the FCC announced curbs on other high-tech Chinese hardware. (Reuters)

    • Texas is now requiring data centers to pass an audit before connecting to the grid. (The Verge)
    • Trump’s AI protectionism has come for robotics. (MIT Technology Review) 1. 美国正考虑禁止中国数据中心组件 此消息发布前，美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）刚刚宣布对其他中国高科技硬件实施限制。（路透社）
    • 德克萨斯州现要求数据中心在接入电网前必须通过审计。（The Verge）
    • 特朗普的 AI 保护主义已延伸至机器人领域。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

  2. SpaceX rocket has crashed into the moon The collision, at about 5,400 miles per hour, will likely leave a new crater. (Guardian)

    • SpaceX posted a loss of over $500 million in its first quarterly earnings report since its IPO. (WP)
    • The company’s future plans rely on the success of its huge Starship rockets. (WSJ)
    • Meanwhile, SpaceX’s spending on AI is soaring. (NYT) 2. SpaceX 火箭撞击月球 此次撞击速度约为每小时 5400 英里，可能会留下一个新的陨石坑。（《卫报》）
    • SpaceX 在上市后的首份季度财报中亏损超过 5 亿美元。（《华盛顿邮报》）
    • 该公司的未来计划依赖于其巨型“星舰”火箭的成功。（《华尔街日报》）
    • 与此同时，SpaceX 在 AI 上的支出正在飙升。（《纽约时报》）

  3. The UK’s AI Safety Institute says it’s uncovered more AI hacks Including an Anthropic model setting up fake accounts mimicking real people. (BBC)

    • The White House has a new cybersecurity framework…but it’s keeping details under wraps. (Wired)
    • Here’s why AI agents lie and cheat to reach their goals. (MIT Technology Review) 3. 英国 AI 安全研究所称发现更多 AI 攻击手段 包括一个 Anthropic 模型创建假账户来模仿真实人类。（BBC）
    • 白宫发布了新的网络安全框架……但对细节保密。（《连线》）
    • 揭秘 AI 智能体为何为了达成目标而撒谎和作弊。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

  4. The future’s looking bright for French AI lab Mistral Turmoil in the US is creating opportunities for European AI that it hopes to seize. (Wired) 4. 法国 AI 实验室 Mistral 前景光明 美国的动荡正在为欧洲 AI 创造机会，Mistral 希望抓住这些机遇。（《连线》）

  5. People are betting on wildfires on prediction markets Which, as US senators warn, sure seems like it will incentivize arson. (Ars Technica)

    • Prediction markets are also starting to put the accuracy of weather predictions at risk. (MIT Technology Review) 5. 人们在预测市场上押注野火 正如美国参议员所警告的那样，这似乎会诱发纵火行为。（Ars Technica）
    • 预测市场也开始危及天气预报的准确性。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

  6. Can Reddit save itself from being swamped by AI search spam? It’s becoming increasingly influential, and brands are desperate to secure mentions. (The Verge) 6. Reddit 能否自救，免受 AI 搜索垃圾信息的淹没？ Reddit 的影响力日益增强，品牌方正不惜一切代价争取在上面获得提及。（The Verge）

  7. Grassroots groups around the world are trying to “humanize” AI Part of their work is educating people so they can have a say on their futures. (Rest of World)

    • The World Bank says poorer countries have “less to fear” from AI than rich ones. (FT) 7. 全球草根组织正试图让 AI “人性化” 他们的部分工作是教育民众，使他们能够对自己的未来拥有发言权。（Rest of World）
    • 世界银行表示，贫穷国家比富裕国家“更不必担心”AI。（《金融时报》）

  8. A Chinese physical AI startup has run into controversy Spirit AI stands accused of “benchmark hacking” after it briefly overtook Nvidia on an AI leaderboard in June. (SCMP)

    • How to build a better AI benchmark. (MIT Technology Review) 8. 一家中国物理 AI 初创公司陷入争议 Spirit AI 在 6 月短暂超越英伟达登上 AI 排行榜后，被指控“基准测试作弊”。（《南华早报》）
    • 如何构建更好的 AI 基准测试。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

  9. Pluto’s atmosphere may be starting to collapse And after the loss of its planet status, too. Really adds insult to injury. (Gizmodo) 9. 冥王星的大气层可能正在坍塌 在失去行星地位之后又遭遇此事，真是雪上加霜。（Gizmodo）

  10. Even Microsoft is begging its engineers to stop using AI so much Kinda telling that even Big Tech firms are struggling to find ROI for their spending. (404 Media) 10. 连微软都在恳求工程师减少使用 AI 连大型科技公司都在为支出寻找投资回报率（ROI）而挣扎，这很能说明问题。（404 Media）

Quote of the day

今日金句

“We’re essentially trying to criminalize government scientists giving advice to political leaders, if that is advice the political leaders don’t like or it creates an outcome the political leaders didn’t want.” —Ashish Jha, former COVID response coordinator, tells Axios why scientists are becoming increasingly wary of taking US government jobs. “我们本质上是在试图将政府科学家向政治领导人提供建议的行为定为犯罪，如果这些建议是政治领导人不喜欢，或者会导致他们不想要的结果的话。”——前新冠疫情应对协调员 Ashish Jha 在接受 Axios 采访时，解释了为什么科学家们越来越担心接受美国政府的工作。

One More Thing: Meet the Vitalists

额外内容：认识“活力论者”（Vitalists）

Meet the Vitalists: the hardcore longevity enthusiasts who believe death is “wrong” Last April, an excited crowd gathered at a compound in Berkeley, California, for a three-day event called the Vitalist Bay Summit. It was part of a longer, two-month residency that hosted various events to explore tools—from drug regulation to cryonics—that might be deployed in the fight against death. One of the main goals, though, was to spread the word of Vitalism, a somewhat radical movement established a few years ago. Consider it longevity for the most hardcore adherents—a sweeping mission to which nothing short of total devotion will do. Vitalists don’t just want to live longer. They believe that defeating death should be humanity’s top concern. Read our story to learn more about them, and their philosophy. —Jessica Hamzelou 认识“活力论者”：那些认为死亡是“错误”的硬核长寿爱好者。 去年 4 月，一群兴奋的人聚集在加州伯克利的一个大院里，参加为期三天的“活力论者湾区峰会”（Vitalist Bay Summit）。这是为期两个月的驻留活动的一部分，期间举办了各种活动，探索从药物调节到人体冷冻技术等可能用于对抗死亡的工具。然而，其主要目标之一是传播“活力论”（Vitalism），这是一个几年前建立的、有些激进的运动。可以将其视为最硬核信徒的长寿追求——这是一项宏大的使命，除了全身心投入外别无他法。活力论者不仅仅想活得更久。他们认为，战胜死亡应该是人类的首要任务。阅读我们的报道，了解更多关于他们及其哲学的信息。——Jessica Hamzelou

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。

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