The Download: AI “mind-reading” and creative uses for small batteries

每日下载：AI“读心术”与小型电池的创新用途

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《每日下载》，我们平日更新的简报，为您提供每日科技界动态。

An AI “mind-reading” tool can reconstruct what you’re looking at based on a brain scan. A new AI tool can guess what you’re looking at just by analyzing your brain scans—and recreate that image with remarkable precision. It can go the other way too, and predict a person’s brain activity based on what they’re looking at. The researchers hope the “mindreading” tool could reveal more about how the brain works. It could also help locked-in people communicate and, incredibly, maybe even allow scientists to recreate the content of dreams. But other scientists warn that a similar approach could reveal people’s inner thoughts and mental imagery, potentially without their consent. Here’s how AI is getting closer to reading images from the brain. —Jessica Hamzelou 一款AI“读心”工具可以通过脑部扫描重建你所看到的画面。一种新的AI工具仅通过分析脑部扫描结果，就能猜出你正在看什么，并以惊人的精度重现该图像。它也可以反向操作，根据人所看到的画面来预测其大脑活动。研究人员希望这种“读心”工具能揭示更多关于大脑运作的奥秘。它还可以帮助“闭锁综合征”患者进行交流，甚至令人难以置信地让科学家重现梦境内容。但其他科学家警告称，类似的方法可能会在未经本人同意的情况下泄露人们的内心想法和心理意象。以下是AI如何一步步实现从大脑中读取图像的。——Jessica Hamzelou

How smaller, distributed batteries could help the grid. Large, utility-scale battery installations are coming online quickly around the world. But there’s been pushback from communities, especially population-dense ones like NYC, because of concerns about relatively rare but high-profile battery fires. Faced with those obstacles, some startups are getting creative, finding ways to use relatively small batteries in unexpected places, from induction stovetops to food carts. By deploying these more consumer-focused batteries, the companies are helping people directly, cutting pollution or power bills. These units are small on their own, but could add up to a lot of capacity. And as batteries get cheaper, they could find their way into more corners of our lives. Here’s why batteries could help ease pressure on the grid. —Casey Crownhart 小型分布式电池如何助力电网。大型公用事业规模的电池设施正在全球范围内迅速上线。但由于对相对罕见但备受关注的电池火灾的担忧，社区（尤其是像纽约市这样人口稠密的地区）对此产生了抵触情绪。面对这些障碍，一些初创公司正在发挥创意，寻找在意想不到的地方使用小型电池的方法，从电磁炉到餐车。通过部署这些更贴近消费者的电池，这些公司正在直接帮助人们减少污染或降低电费。这些装置本身虽小，但累积起来却能提供巨大的容量。随着电池成本的降低，它们可能会进入我们生活的更多角落。以下是电池为何能帮助缓解电网压力的原因。——Casey Crownhart

This story is from The Spark, our weekly climate tech newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday. 本文摘自我们的每周气候科技简报《The Spark》。欢迎订阅，每周三即可在收件箱中查收。

The must-reads: I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 必读内容：我已梳理了互联网，为您找出今天最有趣、最重要、最令人担忧及最引人入胜的科技故事。

The Pentagon has tapped Elon Musk to co-lead a future warfare project. Project Meridian will examine battlefields from underground to space. (CNBC)
五角大楼已邀请埃隆·马斯克共同领导一个未来战争项目。“子午线计划”（Project Meridian）将研究从地下到太空的战场。（CNBC）
Chinese hackers impersonated ex-US officials to spy on American AI. The email campaign also impersonated an Anthropic employee. (CNN)
中国黑客冒充美国前官员以窃取美国AI情报。该电子邮件活动还冒充了Anthropic的员工。（CNN）
After months of delays, Google has unveiled Gemini 4 Argon. The new model aims to re-establish Google at the frontier of AI. (Reuters)
经过数月的推迟，谷歌发布了Gemini 4 Argon。该新模型旨在让谷歌重回AI前沿。（路透社）
The FTC is investigating OpenAI, Anthropic, and other AI labs. The regulator will probe potential consumer harms from AI agents. (Axios)
美国联邦贸易委员会（FTC）正在调查OpenAI、Anthropic及其他AI实验室。监管机构将调查AI智能体可能对消费者造成的伤害。（Axios）
Scientists could soon create “mirror life” that evades nature’s defenses. Biologists in Singapore have called for new safeguards. (Economist)
科学家可能很快就能创造出能规避自然防御的“镜像生命”。新加坡的生物学家已呼吁建立新的保障措施。（《经济学人》）
California has legalized balcony solar for renters and homeowners. The move could give plug-in solar a huge new market. (LA Times)
加利福尼亚州已将租房者和房主的阳台太阳能合法化。此举可能为插电式太阳能提供一个巨大的新市场。（《洛杉矶时报》）
Apple is planning a major push into the smart-home market this month. The new hub is expected to launch on October 13. (Bloomberg)
苹果计划本月大举进军智能家居市场。新中心预计将于10月13日发布。（彭博社）
A new implant network uses body tissue as its wiring. It could connect tiny sensors and medical devices. (Ars Technica)
一种新的植入网络利用人体组织作为线路。它可以连接微型传感器和医疗设备。（Ars Technica）
A modified parasite drug could be a breakthrough for endometriosis. It targets disease-causing cells and reduced lesions in mice. (Nature)
一种改良的寄生虫药物可能是子宫内膜异位症的突破性疗法。它针对致病细胞，并减少了小鼠体内的病变。（《自然》）
Singapore has a new answer to low birth rates: a government dating app. A Nobel-winning algorithm matches participants to one date at a time. (BBC)
新加坡针对低出生率有了新对策：政府推出的约会应用程序。该应用采用诺贝尔奖级别的算法，每次为参与者匹配一个约会对象。（BBC）

Quote of the day: “I’ve spent my summer begging, borrowing, and stealing chips… I don’t want to say steal. Begging and borrowing!” —Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber tells the Wall Street Journal that she’s scoured the globe for chips amid an AI-driven shortage, which she says won’t ease for 12 to 18 months. 今日名言：“我整个夏天都在乞求、借用和‘偷窃’芯片……我不想说偷，是乞求和借用！”——罗技首席执行官Hanneke Faber告诉《华尔街日报》，在AI驱动的芯片短缺潮中，她一直在全球范围内搜寻芯片，并表示这种短缺在未来12到18个月内不会缓解。

One more thing: Inside the hunt for the most dangerous asteroid ever. As asteroid 2024 YR4 hurtled toward Earth, astronomers determined that this massive rock posed a higher risk of impact than any object of its size in recorded history. Then, just as quickly as history was made, experts declared that the danger had passed. This is the inside story of the network of global scientists who found, followed, planned for, and finally dismissed the most dangerous asteroid ever found—all under the tightest of timelines and with the highest of stakes. Find out how they did it. —Robin George Andrews 额外一件事：探寻史上最危险小行星的幕后故事。当小行星2024 YR4冲向地球时，天文学家确定这块巨大的岩石构成的撞击风险比有记录以来任何同等大小的物体都要高。然而，就在创造历史的同时，专家们宣布危险已经解除。这是一群全球科学家网络的内幕故事，他们在极度紧迫的时间和极高的风险下，发现、追踪、规划并最终排除了这颗史上最危险小行星的威胁。了解他们是如何做到的。——Robin George Andrews

We can still have nice things: A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. 我们依然可以拥有美好事物：一个为您提供舒适、乐趣和消遣，点亮您一天的地方。