The Download: the Pentagon’s AI-powered lie detector and young organ limits

每日下载：五角大楼的 AI 测谎仪与年轻器官的局限性

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. 这是我们工作日时事通讯《每日下载》的今日版，为您提供每日科技界动态。

The Pentagon wants $30 million to build an AI-powered lie detector

五角大楼寻求 3000 万美元研发 AI 测谎仪

The US government wants to spend $30.3 million over the next five years on an improved lie detector, according to a Department of Defense budget request. The program, called “Polygraph+” or “Polygraph Next,” will focus on scoring algorithms that use AI and machine learning, as well as a technique called “standoff sensing,” which can take physiological readings from a person without attaching a device to them. The project aims to improve the accuracy and reliability of polygraph assessments. But it could just be the latest in a long line of failed attempts to use technology to detect lies. Here’s how the program could work—and why experts say AI-enabled lie detection is “the worst of both worlds.” —Amit Katwala 根据一份国防部预算申请，美国政府计划在未来五年内投入 3030 万美元用于研发改进型测谎仪。该项目被称为“Polygraph+”或“Polygraph Next”，将重点研究利用人工智能和机器学习的评分算法，以及一种名为“远距离传感”（standoff sensing）的技术，该技术无需在受测者身上安装设备即可获取其生理读数。该项目旨在提高测谎评估的准确性和可靠性。但这可能只是利用技术检测谎言这一系列失败尝试中的最新一例。以下是该项目的工作原理，以及为什么专家称人工智能测谎是“两害相权取其糟”。——Amit Katwala

Young organs may not be a fountain of youth for recipients

年轻器官或许并非受赠者的“青春之泉”

Around this time last year, a hot mic caught Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping discussing the possibility of living forever. “With the developments of biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted, and people can live younger and younger, and even achieve immortality,” Putin reportedly said. He seemed to be referring to the “replacement” theory of longevity, supported by experiments that involved physically stitching young mice to old ones. Unfortunately for Putin, new research on transplanted hearts pours a little cold water on this idea. But it also offers useful insights for organ transplantation. Find out what the research reveals about the limits of rejuvenation. —Jessica Hamzelou 去年这个时候，一段意外录音捕捉到了弗拉基米尔·普京和习近平讨论永生的可能性。据报道，普京当时说：“随着生物技术的发展，人体器官可以不断移植，人们可以活得越来越年轻，甚至实现永生。”他似乎指的是长寿的“替换”理论，该理论曾得到将年轻小鼠与年老小鼠进行物理缝合实验的支持。遗憾的是，对于普京而言，关于心脏移植的最新研究给这一想法泼了一盆冷水。但该研究也为器官移植提供了有益的见解。了解这项研究揭示了关于“返老还童”的哪些局限性。——Jessica Hamzelou

Roundtables: the deadly failures of the virtual border wall

圆桌会议：虚拟边境墙的致命失败

The US has spent billions building a “virtual wall” of surveillance towers along its southern border, promising to detect and apprehend border crossers and save lives. But an MIT Technology Review investigation found more than a thousand people died within the advertised range of the towers without getting caught. On Monday September 28, our editor-in-chief Mat Honan, senior AI reporter James O’Donnell and senior reporter for features and investigations Eileen Guo will join a subscriber-only conversation about the investigation. They’ll examine the failures of border surveillance technology and uncover the stories of the people who die in the borderlands. 美国已耗资数十亿美元在其南部边境沿线建造了一道由监控塔组成的“虚拟墙”，承诺能够探测并抓捕越境者，从而挽救生命。但《麻省理工科技评论》的一项调查发现，有超过一千人在这些监控塔的宣传覆盖范围内死亡，却未被发现。9 月 28 日星期一，我们的主编 Mat Honan、资深 AI 记者 James O’Donnell 以及专题与调查资深记者 Eileen Guo 将参加一场仅限订阅用户参与的对话，讨论这项调查。他们将审视边境监控技术的失败，并揭示那些在边境地区丧生者的故事。

The must-reads

必读内容

ChatGPT helped the Tumbler Ridge shooter focus on attack tactics. A new investigation found it also advised on evading safeguards.
ChatGPT 帮助 Tumbler Ridge 枪手专注于攻击策略。 一项新的调查发现，它还就如何规避安全防护措施提供了建议。
Ukraine just used drones to drop military robots behind Russian lines. The “world-first” assault sent the devices into enemy territory.
乌克兰刚刚使用无人机将军事机器人投放到俄罗斯防线后方。 这次“世界首创”的突袭将这些设备送入了敌方领土。
Google is about to launch AI chips into space. The satellite will run simple AI queries from orbit.
谷歌即将把 AI 芯片送入太空。 该卫星将在轨道上运行简单的 AI 查询。
A new DNA test can diagnose brain tumors in hours. The technology analyzes a tumor’s DNA to identify its type.
一项新的 DNA 检测技术可在数小时内诊断脑肿瘤。 该技术通过分析肿瘤的 DNA 来识别其类型。
Tesla’s Semi is finally ready to hit the road. The long-delayed electric truck is reaching customers this week.
特斯拉 Semi 卡车终于准备好上路了。 这款延期已久的电动卡车本周将交付给客户。
Meta has gained an early lead over OpenAI in the AI device market. The Muse Charm is expected to ship before OpenAI’s hardware.
Meta 在 AI 设备市场上领先于 OpenAI。 Muse Charm 预计将早于 OpenAI 的硬件出货。
A mathematician has discovered a rare eight-faced shape. He argues that the strange three-holed object can exist in 3D.
一位数学家发现了一种罕见的八面体形状。 他认为这种奇特的“三孔”物体可以在三维空间中存在。
AI agents are flooding researchers with collaboration requests. Some bots are asking for data, money, and research partnerships.
AI 智能体正向研究人员发送海量合作请求。 一些机器人正在索要数据、资金和研究伙伴关系。
Venus may have swallowed its own moon. The planet’s slow rotation could have dragged the moon to its doom.
金星可能吞噬了自己的卫星。 这颗行星缓慢的自转可能将其卫星拖向了毁灭。
Mark Zuckerberg has finally explained his fashion glow-up. His makeover is intertwined with Meta’s wearables push.
马克·扎克伯格终于解释了他的时尚蜕变。 他的形象改造与 Meta 对可穿戴设备的推动密不可分。

Quote of the day

今日名言

“They’ve got to inflict an enormous amount of pain and suffering on you so that they can save you. And so I think AI’s kind of like that.” —Jensen Huang compares AI’s need for fossil fuels to surgery in an interview on The Ezra Klein Show. “他们必须让你承受巨大的痛苦和折磨，才能拯救你。所以我认为人工智能有点像这样。”——黄仁勋在《Ezra Klein Show》节目采访中，将人工智能对化石燃料的需求比作外科手术。

One more thing

还有一件事

This scientist rewarmed and studied pieces of his friend’s cryopreserved brain. L. Stephen Coles’s brain sits in a vat at a storage facility in Arizona. It has been held there at a temperature of around −146°C for more than a decade, largely undisturbed. Before he died in 2014, Coles had the brain frozen with an ambitious goal in mind: reanimation. His friend, cryobiologist Greg Fahy, believes it could be revived one day. But other experts are less optimistic. Still, Fahy’s research could lead to new ways to study the brain. And using cryopreservation for organ transplantation is becoming a viable reality. 这位科学家复温并研究了他朋友被冷冻保存的大脑碎片。L. Stephen Coles 的大脑存放在亚利桑那州一家存储设施的容器中。它在那里以约 -146°C 的温度保存了十多年，基本未受干扰。在 2014 年去世前，Coles 将大脑冷冻，怀揣着一个雄心勃勃的目标：复活。他的朋友、低温生物学家 Greg Fahy 认为它有朝一日可以复苏。但其他专家对此并不乐观。尽管如此，Fahy 的研究可能会带来研究大脑的新方法。而且，将低温保存技术用于器官移植正成为一种可行的现实。