The Download: why AI’s latest breakthroughs and fears may be more hype than reality

The Download：为什么人工智能的最新突破与担忧可能只是炒作大于现实

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. Don’t be fooled by this summer of AI hype — Timnit Gebru, executive director of the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR), and Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the University of Washington, argue that it’s been a busy few months for AI hype, with companies making breathless claims about hacking, mathematical breakthroughs, and the prospect of self-improving superintelligence. 这是今天的《The Download》，我们平日的通讯，为您提供每日科技界的动态。不要被这个人工智能炒作的夏天所迷惑——分布式人工智能研究所（DAIR）执行董事蒂姆尼特·格布鲁（Timnit Gebru）和华盛顿大学语言学教授艾米丽·M·本德（Emily M. Bender）认为，过去几个月人工智能的炒作非常频繁，各大公司纷纷就黑客攻击、数学突破以及自我进化超级智能的前景做出令人窒息的声明。

In all these cases, massive fanfare from the companies, presented as mea culpas in the hacking incidents, has been accompanied by intense press coverage. But once experts have had time to examine what happened, very different stories emerge. There’s a strong commercial incentive to overstate AI capabilities. The authors argue that the illusion of speed and urgency promulgated by the tech companies is also a ploy to misdirect policymakers and the public. Here’s why they say we must remain skeptical about AI hype. 在所有这些案例中，公司的大肆宣传（在黑客事件中表现为“认错”）都伴随着密集的媒体报道。但一旦专家们有时间审视所发生的事情，就会出现截然不同的故事。夸大人工智能能力存在强大的商业动机。作者认为，科技公司散布的这种速度感和紧迫感的假象，也是误导政策制定者和公众的一种策略。这就是为什么他们说我们必须对人工智能的炒作保持怀疑。

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，为您找到了今天关于科技的最有趣、最重要、最可怕和最引人入胜的故事。

1. 22 nations have called for a new global body to oversee AI. They want pre-deployment testing and common safety standards. (Politico) 22个国家呼吁建立一个新的全球机构来监管人工智能。 他们希望进行部署前测试并制定共同的安全标准。（Politico）

   • But neither the US nor China are part of the new declaration. (NBC News)
     • 但美国和中国都没有加入这项新声明。（NBC News）
   • Meanwhile, OpenAI has proposed its own global AI safety standards. (Axios)
     • 与此同时，OpenAI 提出了自己的全球人工智能安全标准。（Axios）
   • The company wants the US to lead the international effort. (Reuters)
     • 该公司希望美国领导这一国际努力。（路透社）
   • Could AI really kill us all? (MIT Technology Review)
     • 人工智能真的会杀死我们所有人吗？（《麻省理工科技评论》）

2. Texas and California have moved to rein in data centers. Texas has halted new permits pending a grid audit. (NBC News) 德克萨斯州和加利福尼亚州已采取行动限制数据中心。 德克萨斯州已暂停发放新许可证，等待电网审计。（NBC News）

   • California has passed new laws covering power and water use. (LA Times)
     • 加利福尼亚州通过了涵盖电力和水资源使用的新法律。（《洛杉矶时报》）
   • Data centers are amazing. Everyone hates them. (MIT Technology Review)
     • 数据中心很神奇。但每个人都讨厌它们。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

3. Chipmaker AMD has become the twelfth $1 trillion company. AI chip sales have helped its shares rise more than 180% this year. (CNBC) 芯片制造商 AMD 已成为第十二家市值达到 1 万亿美元的公司。 人工智能芯片的销售帮助其股价今年上涨了超过 180%。（CNBC）

   • Hyperscalers are making a trillion-dollar bet on AI. (MIT Technology Review)
     • 超大规模企业正在人工智能领域进行万亿美元的押注。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

4. Meta’s AI agent Muse has overtaken ChatGPT to top the US App Store. It’s helped set Meta shares for their best month in 13 years. (Quartz) Meta 的人工智能代理 Muse 已超越 ChatGPT，登顶美国 App Store。 这帮助 Meta 股价创下了 13 年来表现最好的一个月。（Quartz）

   • But Muse has a major zero-day vulnerability. (Ars Technica)
     • 但 Muse 存在一个重大的零日漏洞。（Ars Technica）
   • And Amazon has blocked the agent from shopping on its site. (GeekWire)
     • 亚马逊已禁止该代理在其网站上购物。（GeekWire）

5. A new edible battery could power medical devices inside the body. It could run sensors, cameras, and drug-delivery capsules. (Economist) 一种新型可食用电池可以为体内的医疗设备供电。 它可以驱动传感器、摄像头和药物输送胶囊。（《经济学人》）

   • It’s been tested in pigs with an RFID tracker and stomach stimulator. (Nature)
     • 它已在猪身上进行了测试，配备了 RFID 追踪器和胃部刺激器。（《自然》）

6. Trump’s budget chief could gain veto power over NIH grants. The NIH is the world’s largest funder of biomedical research. (Ars Technica) 特朗普的预算主管可能获得对美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）拨款的否决权。 NIH 是全球最大的生物医学研究资助机构。（Ars Technica）

   • Trump’s firings dealt another blow to science. (MIT Technology Review)
     • 特朗普的解雇行为再次打击了科学界。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

7. Epigenetic editing has reached human trials for hepatitis B. The treatment uses chemical tags to shut down viral DNA. (Nature) 表观遗传编辑已进入乙肝人体试验阶段。 该疗法使用化学标签来关闭病毒 DNA。（《自然》）

8. Tree vaccines and gene-edited butterflies have won UK biotech funding. The projects aim to boost nature’s adaptation to climate change. (Guardian) 树木疫苗和基因编辑蝴蝶获得了英国生物技术资金。 这些项目旨在促进自然界对气候变化的适应。（《卫报》）

   • Why this summer was so hot—and 2027 could be worse. (MIT Technology Review)
     • 为什么今年夏天如此炎热——而且 2027 年可能会更糟。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

9. A rocket shortage is making it harder to get satellites into space. SpaceX is winding down Falcon 9 as rivals struggle to catch up. (WSJ) 火箭短缺使得将卫星送入太空变得更加困难。 SpaceX 正在逐步淘汰猎鹰 9 号，而竞争对手们正努力追赶。（《华尔街日报》）

10. Something has gone badly wrong with Dyson’s $500 toothbrush. A mysterious “component issue” has emerged. (Wired) 戴森 500 美元的牙刷出了大问题。 一个神秘的“组件问题”出现了。（《连线》）

Quote of the day

今日名言

“If AI succeeds, then it may kill all of our jobs. If it fails, then the whole economy falls apart, and your 401(k) blows up, and maybe you still lose your job.” “如果人工智能成功了，它可能会扼杀我们所有的工作。如果它失败了，整个经济就会崩溃，你的 401(k) 养老金计划会化为乌有，而且你可能还是会失去工作。”

—Ben Casselman, the New York Times’s chief economics correspondent, explains why people feel trapped in a lose-lose dynamic with the AI boom. ——《纽约时报》首席经济记者本·卡塞尔曼（Ben Casselman）解释了为什么人们在人工智能热潮中感到陷入了双输的局面。

One more thing

还有一件事

How wind tech could help decarbonize cargo shipping 风能技术如何帮助货运航运脱碳

Cargo shipping is responsible for about 3% of the world’s annual greenhouse-gas emissions, and the industry is under pressure to find alternatives to fossil fuels. Wind power is one option. In the Marshall Islands, where people have relied on wind-powered vessels for millennia, a new cargo sailboat inspired by traditional vessels made its maiden voyage last year. It could cut emissions by up to 80% compared with a fuel-powered cargo ship. See how engineers are bringing wind power back to cargo shipping. —Sofia Quaglia 货运航运约占全球年度温室气体排放量的 3%，该行业正面临寻找化石燃料替代品的压力。风能是一个选择。在马绍尔群岛，人们几千年来一直依赖风力驱动的船只，去年一艘受传统船只启发的新型货运帆船进行了首航。与燃料驱动的货船相比，它可以减少高达 80% 的排放。看看工程师们是如何将风能带回货运航运的。——索菲亚·夸利亚（Sofia Quaglia）

We can still have nice things

我们依然可以拥有美好的事物

A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. 一个为您带来舒适、乐趣和消遣，点亮您一天的地方。

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