The Download: 10 climate tech companies to watch
The Download: 10 climate tech companies to watch
《下载》：值得关注的 10 家气候科技公司
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》，我们平日更新的简报，为您提供每日科技世界的动态。
10 climate tech companies to watch
值得关注的 10 家气候科技公司
Each year, MIT Technology Review puts together a list of the most promising climate tech companies in the world. This year, the stakes feel higher than ever. The world is on track for one of its hottest years on record, climate-fueled disasters are taking lives and costing billions, while political shifts and international conflict have stalled progress. 每年，《麻省理工科技评论》都会整理一份全球最具潜力的气候科技公司名单。今年，形势显得比以往任何时候都更加严峻。全球正处于有记录以来最热年份之一的轨道上，气候引发的灾难正在夺走生命并造成数十亿美元的损失，而政治变动和国际冲突也阻碍了进展。
We urgently need to cut emissions and avoid climate change’s most harmful effects, and that’s where our 10 companies come in. They’re working on everything from mobile flood barriers and semi-solid-state batteries to compressed-CO₂ energy storage and next-generation nuclear reactors. They also reflect the biggest shifts in climate tech—including the surging energy demands of AI data centers. 我们迫切需要减少排放并避免气候变化带来的最严重影响，而这正是我们选出的这 10 家公司的用武之地。它们的研究领域涵盖了从移动防洪屏障、半固态电池，到压缩二氧化碳储能和下一代核反应堆等方方面面。它们也反映了气候科技领域最大的转变——包括人工智能数据中心激增的能源需求。
Meet the 10 companies working on some of the biggest challenges in climate tech. Over the coming days, we’ll take a closer look at each of the 10 companies, along with how we chose this year’s list, right here in The Download. So stay tuned! 来认识一下这 10 家致力于解决气候科技领域重大挑战的公司吧。在接下来的几天里，我们将通过《下载》深入探讨这 10 家公司中的每一家，并介绍我们选择今年名单的标准。敬请关注！
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，为您找出了今天关于科技最有趣、最重要、最令人担忧以及最引人入胜的故事。
1. Musk’s new Pentagon role has raised conflict-of-interest fears 1. 马斯克在五角大楼的新角色引发了利益冲突的担忧 His companies could directly benefit from the weapons he recommends. (NPR) 他的公司可能会从他推荐的武器中直接获利。（NPR）
- SpaceX has received billions in Pentagon and NASA contracts. (NYT)
- SpaceX 已获得五角大楼和 NASA 数十亿美元的合同。（《纽约时报》）
- Beware the rise of the “Pentagon-Silicon Complex.” (Gizmodo)
- 警惕“五角大楼-硅谷复合体”的崛起。（Gizmodo）
- The Pentagon wants an AI-powered lie detector. (MIT Technology Review)
- 五角大楼想要一个人工智能驱动的测谎仪。（《麻省理工科技评论》）
2. The only billionaires making money this year are in tech 2. 今年唯一赚钱的亿万富翁都在科技行业 Tech fortunes now account for 36% of billionaire wealth. (Bloomberg) 科技财富目前占亿万富翁总财富的 36%。（彭博社）
- Nvidia is on the verge of the first $6 trillion valuation. (CNBC)
- 英伟达即将成为首家市值达到 6 万亿美元的公司。（CNBC）
- SpaceX stock has made Elon Musk a trillionaire again. (Gizmodo)
- SpaceX 的股票让埃隆·马斯克再次成为万亿富翁。（Gizmodo）
3. Norway is planning the first national ban on smart glasses 3. 挪威计划实施首个全国性智能眼镜禁令 Camera-enabled glasses could be barred from public spaces. (Guardian) 配备摄像头的眼镜可能会被禁止进入公共场所。（《卫报》）
- Several other countries are also mulling bans. (Reuters)
- 其他几个国家也在考虑禁令。（路透社）
- Smart glasses are causing havoc in India. (MIT Technology Review)
- 智能眼镜正在印度引发混乱。（《麻省理工科技评论》）
4. Tandem panels could help the US catch up with China in solar 4. 叠层电池板可能帮助美国在太阳能领域赶上中国 They could produce 25% more electricity from sunlight. (NYT) 它们能从阳光中多产生 25% 的电力。（《纽约时报》）
- The balcony solar boom is coming to the US. (MIT Technology Review)
- 阳台太阳能热潮即将来临美国。（《麻省理工科技评论》）
5. South Korea’s President suspects AI’s been used in bank hacks 5. 韩国总统怀疑人工智能被用于银行黑客攻击 He called for new cybersecurity measures for the AI era. (Reuters) 他呼吁为人工智能时代采取新的网络安全措施。（路透社）
- OpenAI agents may have caused a Wikimedia outage. (Verge)
- OpenAI 的智能体可能导致了维基媒体的宕机。（Verge）
- Who’s liable when AI agents go rogue? (MIT Technology Review)
- 当人工智能智能体失控时，谁来负责？（《麻省理工科技评论》）
6. Russian drones are exploiting air defense gaps to hit data centers 6. 俄罗斯无人机利用防空漏洞袭击数据中心 The attacks are disrupting Ukraine’s digital infrastructure. (Ars Technica) 这些袭击正在破坏乌克兰的数字基础设施。（Ars Technica）
7. The AI boom is killing the world’s cheapest smartphones 7. 人工智能热潮正在扼杀世界上最便宜的智能手机 Memory costs are squeezing out affordable phones. (Rest of World) 内存成本正在挤压平价手机的生存空间。（Rest of World）
8. Pioneers of light-based brain mapping have won a Nobel prize 8. 光学脑图谱先驱获得诺贝尔奖 Their technique shines new light on brain circuits. (BBC) 他们的技术为大脑回路研究带来了新的曙光。（BBC）
9. AI slop has pushed arXiv to limit preprint research submissions 9. 人工智能生成的垃圾内容促使 arXiv 限制预印本研究提交 Submissions have doubled in two years. (404 Media) 提交量在两年内翻了一番。（404 Media）
10. McDonald’s is being sued over AI-powered Big Mac pricing 10. 麦当劳因人工智能驱动的巨无霸定价被起诉 The lawsuit alleges AI helped franchises coordinate prices. (Reuters) 诉讼称人工智能帮助加盟店协调了价格。（路透社）
Quote of the day
今日金句
“In the extreme, I could see someone describing Anthropic as a cult that’s trying to take over the world.” “在极端情况下，我能理解有人将 Anthropic 描述为一个试图接管世界的邪教。”
—AI researcher Jacob Coxon, who resigned from Anthropic over fears that it’s building systems that it won’t be able to control, tells New York Magazine his views on the company’s culture. ——人工智能研究员 Jacob Coxon 因担心公司正在构建无法控制的系统而从 Anthropic 辞职，他向《纽约杂志》表达了对该公司文化的看法。
One more thing
还有一件事
How AI is turning the Iran conflict into theater 人工智能如何将伊朗冲突变成一场“戏码”
Much of the spotlight on AI in the Iran conflict has focused on models like Claude helping the US military decide where to strike. But a wave of “vibe-coded” intelligence dashboards—and the ecosystem surrounding them—reflect a new role that AI is playing in wartime: mediating information, often for the worse. These sorts of intelligence tools have much promise. Yet there are real reasons to be suspicious of their data feeds. Read the full story. —James O’Donnell 在伊朗冲突中，关于人工智能的关注点大多集中在 Claude 等模型如何帮助美军决定打击目标上。但一波“氛围编码”的情报仪表盘及其周围的生态系统，反映了人工智能在战时扮演的新角色：调解信息，且往往是向坏的方向发展。这类情报工具非常有前景，但我们确实有理由怀疑它们的数据源。阅读全文。——James O’Donnell