The Download: AI agents for science, and the “censorship-industrial complex”

《下载》：科学 AI 智能体与“审查工业复合体”

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。

AI for science needs reasoning, not just data — Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google and the cofounder of Schmidt Sciences, and Suhas Mahesh, who leads the AI for science work at the AI Center of Schmidt Sciences. In 2024, Google DeepMind scientists shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for a neural network, AlphaFold, which predicts the structures of proteins. It showed that AI could make groundbreaking scientific discoveries, but AlphaFold may not be the best template for accelerating science. Instead, another approach may hold the key: AI agents. AlphaFold relied on a dataset of roughly 170,000 experimentally validated protein structures that took 53 years and roughly $21 billion worth of experimental work to assemble. Comparable datasets will be difficult or impossible to create in many fields. AI agents can instead model the iterative, highly contingent process of actual research. While tools like AlphaFold apply a powerful approach to a limited question, agents are inherently generalists. They do not represent a new way to do science—instead, they digitally model the human process of discovery. Read the full op-ed on how agents could accelerate scientific discovery. 科学 AI 需要推理，而不仅仅是数据——谷歌前首席执行官、Schmidt Sciences 联合创始人埃里克·施密特（Eric Schmidt）与 Schmidt Sciences AI 中心科学 AI 工作负责人苏哈斯·马赫什（Suhas Mahesh）如是说。2024 年，谷歌 DeepMind 的科学家凭借能够预测蛋白质结构的神经网络 AlphaFold 共同获得了诺贝尔化学奖。这表明 AI 可以做出突破性的科学发现，但 AlphaFold 可能并不是加速科学发展的最佳模板。相反，另一种方法可能才是关键：AI 智能体。AlphaFold 依赖于一个包含约 17 万个经实验验证的蛋白质结构数据集，这些数据耗费了 53 年时间和约 210 亿美元的实验工作才得以汇编完成。在许多领域，创建类似的数据集将非常困难甚至不可能。相比之下，AI 智能体可以模拟实际研究中迭代且高度偶然的过程。虽然像 AlphaFold 这样的工具是将强大的方法应用于有限的问题，但智能体本质上是通才。它们并不代表一种新的科学研究方式，而是以数字方式模拟了人类的发现过程。阅读关于智能体如何加速科学发现的完整评论文章。

Inside the “censorship-industrial complex” idea shaping US policy. For years, the idea of a “censorship-industrial complex” that suppressed conservative and populist speech spread in right-wing circles online. But now, the theory has made its way into the Trump administration. Over the past nine months, MIT Technology Review investigated its origins and traced its rise. In a virtual Roundtables session on Thursday, August 13, senior reporter Eileen Guo and executive editor Amy Nordrum will explore what they discovered, where the theory is going, and what it could mean for the future of democracy and the internet. Register here to join the session at 19:00 GMT / 2:00 pm ET / 11:00 am PT. 深入了解塑造美国政策的“审查工业复合体”理念。多年来，一种认为存在压制保守派和民粹主义言论的“审查工业复合体”的观点在网络右翼圈子中流传。但现在，这一理论已经进入了特朗普政府的视野。在过去的九个月里，《麻省理工科技评论》调查了其起源并追踪了它的兴起。在 8 月 13 日（周四）的虚拟圆桌会议上，资深记者 Eileen Guo 和执行编辑 Amy Nordrum 将探讨他们的发现、该理论的走向，以及它对民主和互联网的未来可能意味着什么。点击此处注册，参加格林威治标准时间 19:00 / 美东时间下午 2:00 / 太平洋时间上午 11:00 的会议。

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，为您找出今天关于科技最有趣、最重要、最令人恐惧和最引人入胜的故事。

A new Amazon data center could become the US’s biggest polluter. The Texas facility has a permit to release up to 33 million tons of CO2. It will be Amazon’s first off-grid AI data center. The gas plant will generate up to 7.65 gigawatts of power.
亚马逊的一个新数据中心可能成为美国最大的污染源。 该德克萨斯州设施获准排放高达 3300 万吨二氧化碳。这将是亚马逊首个离网 AI 数据中心。该天然气发电厂将产生高达 7.65 吉瓦的电力。
OpenAI has paused work on its Astra AI model over security concerns. Tests found it could launch cyber-attacks autonomously. Critics warn such disclosures could be designed to spark hype. AI doesn’t need to be that smart to make online crimes easier.
OpenAI 因安全担忧暂停了其 Astra AI 模型的工作。 测试发现它能够自主发起网络攻击。批评人士警告称，此类披露可能是为了制造炒作。AI 不需要那么聪明就能让网络犯罪变得更容易。
North Korean hackers have built AI tools for cyberattacks. A new report says they’re used in spear-phishing campaigns. They’re attributed to the state-linked group Kimsuky. Which could automate attacks and analyse stolen data.
朝鲜黑客开发了用于网络攻击的 AI 工具。 一份新报告称，这些工具被用于鱼叉式网络钓鱼活动。它们被归因于与国家有关联的组织 Kimsuky。这些工具可以自动化攻击并分析被盗数据。
China’s firms control 97% of global humanoid shipments. Global shipments have more than tripled since last year. Chinese humanoid manufacturers are racing to public listings. Gig workers are training humanoids at home.
中国企业控制了全球 97% 的人形机器人出货量。 全球出货量自去年以来增长了两倍多。中国人形机器人制造商正竞相上市。零工正在家中训练人形机器人。
Taiwan has expanded its use of aerial and maritime drones to deter China. The approach draws on lessons from Ukraine’s battlefield. Taiwan’s “silicon shield” could be weakening.
台湾扩大了空中和海上无人机的使用以威慑中国。 这一方法借鉴了乌克兰战场的经验。台湾的“硅盾”可能正在减弱。
Apple is testing Chinese memory chips as the supply squeeze bites. But any deal with CXMT would be politically sensitive.
随着供应紧缩，苹果正在测试中国存储芯片。 但与长鑫存储（CXMT）的任何交易在政治上都将非常敏感。
An Israeli startup is tied to rogue AI hacks at OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta. Irregular’s tests allowed the models to access the public internet.
一家以色列初创公司与 OpenAI、Anthropic 和 Meta 的流氓 AI 黑客攻击有关。 Irregular 的测试允许模型访问公共互联网。
NASA is flying into wildfire storms to understand them. The mission will study their effects on fires and the atmosphere.
NASA 正飞入野火风暴以进行研究。 该任务将研究它们对火灾和大气的影响。
A chatbot-free childhood may become a status symbol. AI is like ultra-processed food for developing brains. Are chatbots making us lose control of our brains?
没有聊天机器人的童年可能成为一种身份象征。 AI 对发育中的大脑来说就像超加工食品。聊天机器人是否正在让我们失去对大脑的控制？
MySpace is eyeing a comeback as an “antidote” to social media fatigue. But the nostalgic plan looks like a long shot.
MySpace 正寻求回归，作为对抗社交媒体疲劳的“解毒剂”。 但这个怀旧计划看起来希望渺茫。

Quote of the day

今日金句

“It’s the humans that we need to watch out for. AI is just the tool.” —Oren Etzioni, professor emeritus at the University of Washington and former CEO of the Allen Institute for AI, tells CNN that people are still the main threats in cybersecurity. “我们需要提防的是人类。AI 只是工具。”——华盛顿大学名誉教授、艾伦人工智能研究所前首席执行官奥伦·埃齐奥尼（Oren Etzioni）告诉 CNN，人类仍然是网络安全中的主要威胁。

One More Thing

还有一件事

Meet the man building a starter kit for civilization. Marcin Jakubowski lives in a house he designed and built himself. He relies on the sun for power, heats his home with a woodstove, and farms his own fish and vegetables. Jakubowski is the founder of Open Source Ecology, a collection of 50 machines capable of building civilization from scratch. It includes everything from a tractor to an oven to a circuit maker, all designed to be reconfigured however you see fit. The ultimate goal is a “zero marginal cost” society, where producing an additional unit of a good or service costs little to nothing. Jakubowski hopes to get there by eradicating licensing fees, decentralizing manufacturing, and fostering collaboration through education. Take a look inside his starter kit for civilization. —Tiffany Ng 认识一下这位正在构建“文明入门套件”的人。马尔钦·雅库博夫斯基（Marcin Jakubowski）住在他自己设计和建造的房子里。他依靠太阳能供电，用木柴炉取暖，并自己养鱼和种植蔬菜。雅库博夫斯基是“开源生态”（Open Source Ecology）的创始人，该项目收集了 50 种能够从零开始构建文明的机器。它包括从拖拉机到烤箱再到电路制造机的所有设备，所有这些都设计为可以根据您的需要进行重新配置。最终目标是一个“零边际成本”社会，即生产额外单位的商品或服务几乎不需要成本。雅库博夫斯基希望通过消除许可费、分散制造业以及通过教育促进合作来实现这一目标。来看看他的文明入门套件吧。——Tiffany Ng

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.) 一个为您带来舒适、乐趣和消遣，点亮您一天的地方。（有什么想法吗？给我写信。）

A rhythmic doggie is proving that not only humans can play the drums.
一只节奏感十足的小狗证明了不仅人类可以打鼓。
Catch a glimpse of the internet’s future at the Awwwards, the Oscars of web design.
在被称为网页设计界奥斯卡的 Awwwards 上一窥互联网的未来。
Explore the ocean year-round with this immersive experience of the Nautilus vessel’s expeditions.
通过鹦鹉螺号（Nautilus）探险队的沉浸式体验，全年探索海洋。
Earth once (or twice) had supermountains. This fascinating video explores their links to evolutionary shifts in the history of life.
地球曾经（或两次）拥有过超级山脉。这段引人入胜的视频探讨了它们与生命史上进化转变的联系。