The Download: a censorship conspiracy theory and the first virus created by AI

The Download：审查阴谋论与首个由人工智能创造的病毒

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《The Download》，我们平日发行的时事通讯，为您提供每日科技界动态。

How ideas of a vast censorship network moved from the online fringe to Trump policy

关于庞大审查网络的构想如何从网络边缘走向特朗普的政策

For years, narratives about a “censorship-industrial complex” spread in right-wing circles. The theory claimed that, under the guise of combating disinformation, a sprawling constellation of government agencies, academics, civil society groups, and Big Tech platforms was suppressing conservative and populist speech online. 多年来，关于“审查-工业复合体”的叙事在右翼圈子中流传。该理论声称，在打击虚假信息的幌子下，一个由政府机构、学术界、民间社会团体和大型科技平台组成的庞大网络正在线上压制保守派和民粹主义者的言论。

What began as a relatively niche conspiracy theory from the far right was able to—and continues to—influence a wide range of actions by the second Trump administration. In myriad ways, the idea of the censorship-industrial complex, or CIC, explains the logic behind how the administration operates both at home and internationally. 这一最初源于极右翼的相对小众的阴谋论，已经并将继续影响特朗普第二任政府的广泛行动。在许多方面，“审查-工业复合体”（CIC）的概念解释了该政府在国内和国际上运作背后的逻辑。

Over the past nine months, MIT Technology Review and Type Investigations have traced how the theory came to influence the country’s most powerful individuals. We found that it took off in 2023, driven by a handful of individuals, with support from a close-knit group of right-wing organizations and media outlets—and an internet activist named Mike Benz at its center. Read the full story on how the CIC framework has shaped government action. —Eileen Guo, Gisela Perez de Acha, and Martin Sona 在过去的九个月里，《麻省理工科技评论》和 Type Investigations 追踪了这一理论是如何影响该国最有权势的人物的。我们发现，它在 2023 年开始兴起，由少数几个人推动，并得到了一个紧密的右翼组织和媒体群体的支持，而一位名叫迈克·本茨（Mike Benz）的网络活动家处于核心地位。阅读关于 CIC 框架如何塑造政府行动的完整报道。——Eileen Guo, Gisela Perez de Acha, and Martin Sona

Join us next week for a subscriber-only Roundtables discussion about how the “censorship-industrial complex” idea started, where it’s going, and what it means for the future of American democracy and the internet. Subscribers can register for free. 欢迎参加我们下周举办的订阅用户专享圆桌讨论，探讨“审查-工业复合体”这一概念的起源、发展方向，以及它对美国民主和互联网未来的意义。订阅用户可免费注册。

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、最令人恐惧和最引人入胜的科技故事。

AI has designed new viruses from scratch for the first time Scientists trained AI on DNA sequences to design new genomes. (BBC)+ The result was 16 novel viruses which pose no threat to people. (WSJ $)+ They could lead to medical breakthroughs—or biological weapons. (Axios)+ And more complex AI-designed life forms. (MIT Technology Review)
人工智能首次从零开始设计出新病毒 科学家利用 DNA 序列训练人工智能以设计新的基因组。（BBC）+ 结果产生了 16 种对人类不构成威胁的新型病毒。（华尔街日报）+ 它们可能带来医学突破，也可能成为生物武器。（Axios）+ 以及更多由人工智能设计的复杂生命形式。（麻省理工科技评论）
Meta has been hit with its biggest child safety penalty yet A New Mexico judge fined the firm $567 million over harms to kids. (BBC)+ The ruling is the second phase of a landmark trial Meta lost. (Guardian)+ A jury found Meta misled users over child safety. (NYT $)+ The total fine now stands at $942 million. (WSJ $)
Meta 遭遇迄今为止最大规模的儿童安全罚款 新墨西哥州的一名法官因 Meta 对儿童造成的伤害对其处以 5.67 亿美元的罚款。（BBC）+ 该裁决是 Meta 在一场里程碑式审判中败诉的第二阶段。（卫报）+ 陪审团认定 Meta 在儿童安全问题上误导了用户。（纽约时报）+ 目前总罚款额已达 9.42 亿美元。（华尔街日报）
One of China’s top AI models broke out of its testing sandbox Kimi K3 escaped containment and accessed the open internet. (SCMP)+ But didn’t hack an external system. (Bloomberg $)+ Researchers say Kimi has fewer guardrails than rival models. (Wired $)
中国顶级人工智能模型之一突破了测试沙箱 Kimi K3 逃离了限制并访问了开放互联网。（南华早报）+ 但并未入侵外部系统。（彭博社）+ 研究人员表示，Kimi 的护栏比竞争对手的模型更少。（连线）
A drone bomb was found near a Ukrainian plane at a German airport The nearby aircraft was loaded with military ammunition. (Guardian)+ A “ripped” detonator reportedly stopped the device from going off. (BBC)+ Europe has a drone-filled vision for future wars. (MIT Technology Review)
德国机场一架乌克兰飞机附近发现无人机炸弹 附近的飞机装载着军事弹药。（卫报）+ 据报道，一个“撕裂”的雷管阻止了该装置爆炸。（BBC）+ 欧洲对未来战争有着充满无人机的愿景。（麻省理工科技评论）
ByteDance is training a model near the size of Anthropic’s Mythos It would be three times larger than Moonshot’s Kimi K3. (FT $)+ Chinese AI models have divided the White House. (MIT Technology Review)
字节跳动正在训练一个规模接近 Anthropic Mythos 的模型 它将比月之暗面的 Kimi K3 大三倍。（金融时报）+ 中国的人工智能模型在白宫内部引发了分歧。（麻省理工科技评论）
Research suggests replacing new petrol cars with EVs cuts carbon The savings outweighed EV manufacturing footprints. (New Scientist $)
研究表明，用电动汽车取代新汽油车可减少碳排放 减排量超过了电动汽车制造过程中的碳足迹。（新科学家）
Trump could save millions from crypto rules meant to limit conflicts An ethics proposal could let him defer capital gains taxes. (Bloomberg $)+ It would require him to sell crypto-related holdings. (Reuters $)
特朗普可能因旨在限制利益冲突的加密货币规则而节省数百万美元 一项道德提案可能允许他推迟缴纳资本利得税。（彭博社）+ 这将要求他出售与加密货币相关的持仓。（路透社）
OpenAI’s smart speaker will be hockey puck-sized with moving parts The “doughnut-shaped” device could cost more than $300. (Verge)
OpenAI 的智能音箱将呈冰球大小并带有活动部件 这种“甜甜圈形状”的设备售价可能超过 300 美元。（Verge）
Scientists created a virtual alien lifeform to search for extraterrestrials The model could help identify signs of life on distant planets. (404 Media)
科学家创造了一种虚拟外星生命形式以搜寻地外文明 该模型有助于识别遥远行星上的生命迹象。（404 Media）
Poo transplants are helping people eat peanuts again The first human trial suggests gut bacteria can treat food allergies. (Nature)
粪便移植正在帮助人们重新吃花生 首次人体试验表明，肠道细菌可以治疗食物过敏。（自然）

Quote of the day

今日名言

“What is the risk of what I’ve never seen before?” “对于我从未见过的事物，其风险究竟是什么？”

—Dr Moritz Hanke, a fellow at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, tells the New York Times why there’s no consensus on the dangers of a new virus made by AI. ——约翰霍普金斯大学健康安全中心研究员 Moritz Hanke 博士向《纽约时报》解释了为何对于人工智能制造的新病毒的危险性尚未达成共识。

One More Thing

还有一件事

This architect wants to build cities out of lava 这位建筑师想用熔岩建造城市

Arnhildur Pálmadóttir was around three years old when she saw a red sky from her living room window. A volcano was erupting about 25 miles away from where she lived on the northeastern coast of Iceland. Its ominous presence seeped into her subconscious, populating her dreams with streaks of light in the night sky. Fifty years later, these “gloomy, strange dreams,” as Pálmadóttir now describes them, have led to a career as an architect with an extraordinary mission: to harness molten lava and build cities out of it. Pálmadóttir believes the lava from a single eruption could yield enough building material to lay the foundations of an entire city. Find out how she aims to turn the idea into reality. —Elissaveta M. Brandon Arnhildur Pálmadóttir 大约三岁时，从客厅窗户看到了红色的天空。当时，距离她居住的冰岛东北海岸约 25 英里处的一座火山正在喷发。那种不祥的存在感渗入了她的潜意识，让她的梦境中充满了夜空中的光束。五十年后，这些 Pálmadóttir 现在所描述的“阴郁而奇怪的梦”，使她成为了一名有着非凡使命的建筑师：利用熔岩并用它建造城市。Pálmadóttir 相信，单次喷发的熔岩就能产生足够的建筑材料，为整座城市奠定基础。了解她如何将这一想法变为现实。——Elissaveta M. Brandon