The Download: moon city problems and drone traffic controllers

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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. Mars may be a hellhole, but the moon is not far behind The US and China are racing to build bases on the moon, with NASA hoping to establish a small lunar city by the end of the century. But the moon is a tremendously hostile place to set up camp. A sprawling lunar base must be safe for its inhabitants, protected from falling asteroids, endless cosmic radiation, razor-sharp lunar dust, and torturous temperature swings. It also must be somewhat self-sustaining. That will require autonomous robots, nuclear power, and a way to use the moon’s resources to keep the base operating. But the chief obstacle may be one of political will. Find out what stands in the way of a city on the moon. —Robin George Andrews This story is from the next issue of our print magazine. Subscribe now to get your hands on a copy as soon as it lands on Wednesday 21 October!

这是今日份的《下载》，我们的工作日通讯，为您提供每日科技动态。火星可能是一个地狱般的地方，但月球也不遑多让。美国和中国正在竞相在月球上建立基地，美国国家航空航天局（NASA）希望在本世纪末建立一座小型月球城市。但月球是一个极其恶劣的驻扎地。庞大的月球基地必须确保居民安全，免受陨石坠落、无尽的宇宙辐射、锋利的月尘以及剧烈温差的侵害。它还必须具备一定的自给自足能力。这需要自主机器人、核能以及利用月球资源维持基地运行的方法。但主要的障碍可能是政治意愿。了解阻碍月球城市建设的因素。——罗宾·乔治·安德鲁斯（Robin George Andrews）。本文摘自我们下一期的印刷杂志。立即订阅，以便在10月21日星期三出版时第一时间拿到副本！

10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch: Brimstone and its one-stop process for making cleaner cement and critical minerals Brimstone is one of MIT Technology Review’s 10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch 2026, available exclusively to subscribers. Brimstone is a code-switching climate tech company for these polarized political times. The US startup is part green cement company, part critical mineral producer. During the Biden administration, its primary pitch was cement that generates about 60% fewer greenhouse-gas emissions. It achieves this by switching to silicate rocks instead of standard limestone, which releases carbon dioxide when heated. Under the Trump administration, however, the company is emphasizing another benefit of its process: the ability to extract valuable materials from those same rocks. Discover how it’s making strides on two industrial problems. —James Temple Subscribers can now access the full 10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch, spanning everything from geothermal power plants to smart turbines and semi-solid-state cells.

值得关注的10家气候科技公司：Brimstone及其生产清洁水泥和关键矿物的“一站式”工艺。Brimstone是《麻省理工科技评论》2026年值得关注的10家气候科技公司之一，内容仅供订阅者阅读。Brimstone是一家在当前两极分化的政治环境下能够“切换代码”的气候科技公司。这家美国初创公司既是绿色水泥公司，也是关键矿物生产商。在拜登政府时期，其主要卖点是排放量减少约60%的水泥。它通过改用硅酸盐岩石代替加热时会释放二氧化碳的标准石灰石来实现这一目标。然而，在特朗普政府下，该公司强调了其工艺的另一个好处：从同样的岩石中提取有价值材料的能力。了解它是如何在两个工业问题上取得进展的。——詹姆斯·坦普尔（James Temple）。订阅者现在可以访问完整的“值得关注的10家气候科技公司”名单，涵盖从地热发电厂到智能涡轮机和半固态电池等各个领域。

Job titles of the future: Delivery drone air traffic controller The moment Trevor Wischnewsky heard that drones were delivering pizza and sushi around his Texas neighborhood, his mind was made up. “It was super fascinating,” he says. “I just immediately wanted to be a part of it.” Wischnewsky is now an RPIC, or remote pilot in command, at a company called FlyTrex. An RPIC is like an air traffic controller. But instead of airplanes, they oversee fleets of drones that ferry cargo to homes and businesses Here’s what it takes to become a drone air traffic controller. —Eamon Whalen

未来的职位名称：送货无人机空中交通管制员。当特雷弗·威什涅夫斯基（Trevor Wischnewsky）听说无人机正在他德克萨斯州的社区周围运送披萨和寿司时，他下定了决心。“这太迷人了，”他说，“我立刻就想参与其中。”威什涅夫斯基现在是一家名为FlyTrex的公司的一名RPIC（远程机长）。RPIC就像一名空中交通管制员。但他们监管的不是飞机，而是将货物运送到家庭和企业的无人机机队。了解成为一名无人机空中交通管制员需要什么条件。——埃蒙·惠伦（Eamon Whalen）。

The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 An Anthropic AI model submitted a fake tip about an unsolved murder. The tip was in a new group of rogue actions Anthropic disclosed. (NYT $)+ Police criticised the company for waiting nine days to report it after finding it. (WSJ $)+ Another model submitted real government forms. (Quartz)+ The White House has made AI incident reporting mandatory. (Axios)+ But who’s liable when AI agents go rogue? (MIT Technology Review)

必读内容：我梳理了互联网，为您找到今天关于科技的最有趣/重要/可怕/迷人的故事。1. 一个Anthropic AI模型提交了关于一起未决谋杀案的虚假举报。该举报属于Anthropic披露的一组新的违规行为。（《纽约时报》$）+ 警方批评该公司在发现举报后等待了九天才进行报告。（《华尔街日报》$）+ 另一个模型提交了真实的政府表格。（Quartz）+ 白宫已强制要求进行AI事件报告。（Axios）+ 但当AI代理失控时，谁来负责？（《麻省理工科技评论》）

2 Ukraine’s drone strikes have dealt a major blow to Russian AI. Sunday’s attack shut down the third Yandex data centre hit in days. (Reuters $)+ The strikes have disrupted Russia’s AI, cloud services, and apps. (Gizmodo)+ They followed Russian strikes on Ukrainian data centers. (Ars Technica)+ Russian military satellites could disrupt Starlink. (Reuters $)+ Ukraine’s drone data is fueling a wild market. (MIT Technology Review)

2. 乌克兰的无人机袭击对俄罗斯的人工智能造成了重大打击。周日的袭击导致Yandex在几天内第三个被击中的数据中心关闭。（路透社$）+ 这些袭击扰乱了俄罗斯的人工智能、云服务和应用程序。（Gizmodo）+ 此前俄罗斯袭击了乌克兰的数据中心。（Ars Technica）+ 俄罗斯军事卫星可能会干扰星链（Starlink）。（路透社$）+ 乌克兰的无人机数据正在助推一个疯狂的市场。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

3 Iranian ChatGPT users have planted AI-generated articles in news outlets. About a dozen outlets ran roughly 100 articles by fake journalists. (CNN)+ The articles criticised the Iran war’s effects on Americans. (WP $)+ AI has been used to turn the Iran conflict into theatre. (MIT Technology Review)

3. 伊朗的ChatGPT用户在新闻媒体中植入了AI生成的文章。大约十几家媒体刊登了约100篇由虚假记者撰写的文章。（CNN）+ 这些文章批评了伊朗战争对美国人的影响。（《华盛顿邮报》$）+ AI已被用于将伊朗冲突变成一场戏。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

4 Tesla has renamed “Full Self-Driving” as “Assisted Driving” in Europe. EU lawmakers said the old name was misleading. (TechCrunch)+ Tesla hopes the rebrand leads regulators to approve the feature. (Wired $)+ Back in the US, it plans to increase toxic emissions near a school. (SFGate)

4. 特斯拉在欧洲将“全自动驾驶”（Full Self-Driving）更名为“辅助驾驶”（Assisted Driving）。欧盟立法者表示旧名称具有误导性。（TechCrunch）+ 特斯拉希望此次更名能促使监管机构批准该功能。（《连线》$）+ 回到美国，它计划在学校附近增加有毒排放。（SFGate）

5 A ransomware negotiator has been arrested amid a hacking crackdown. The FBI suspects he was involved with a gang that recently claimed to have stolen data on the bureau’s employees. (Reuters $)+ AI is making online crimes easier. (MIT Technology Review)

5. 一名勒索软件谈判代表在黑客打击行动中被捕。联邦调查局（FBI）怀疑他与一个最近声称窃取了该局员工数据的团伙有关。（路透社$）+ AI正在使网络犯罪变得更容易。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

6 Hollywood’s hottest villain right now is the tech billionaire. Four new films feature dark depictions of Silicon Valley leaders. (Axios $)+ The real Mark Zuckerberg has also become a new character. (NYT $)

6. 好莱坞目前最热门的反派是科技亿万富翁。四部新电影对硅谷领导人进行了黑暗的描绘。（Axios $）+ 真实的马克·扎克伯格也成为了一个新角色。（《纽约时报》$）

7 A new experiment is testing the Amazon’s response to rising CO₂. CO₂-releasing towers will simulate future atmospheric conditions. (Nature)+ Is carbon removal in trouble? (MIT Technology Review)

7. 一项新的实验正在测试亚马逊雨林对二氧化碳浓度上升的反应。释放二氧化碳的塔将模拟未来的大气条件。（《自然》）+ 碳清除陷入困境了吗？（《麻省理工科技评论》）

8 The US hybrid boom has pushed some used car prices above new ones. Buyers are paying a premium to skip the wait for new models. (Wired $)

8. 美国混合动力汽车的热潮推高了部分二手车价格，使其超过了新车。买家支付溢价以避免等待新车型。（《连线》$）

9 A new technology switches tattoos on and off with light. It can make permanent ink invisible. (New Scientist $)

9. 一项新技术可以通过光线开启和关闭纹身。它可以使永久性墨水变得不可见。（《新科学家》$）

10 Scientists spotted the most distant signal yet from the ancient universe. It could help them understand how the universe has evolved. (404 Media)

10. 科学家发现了迄今为止来自古老宇宙的最遥远信号。这可能有助于他们了解宇宙是如何演化的。（404 Media）

Quote of the day “Right now, your washing machine is subject to more safety rules than AI.” —Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, tells the BBC why AI urgently needs more regulations, including requiring firms to write “incident reports” and tell victims if the technology goes rogue.

今日名言：“目前，你的洗衣机所受到的安全规则限制比人工智能还要多。”——微软总裁布拉德·史密斯（Brad Smith）告诉BBC，为什么人工智能迫切需要更多的监管，包括要求公司撰写“事件报告”，并在技术失控时告知受害者。

One more thing LINDA NYLIND / EYEVINE VIA REDUX Geoffrey Hinton tells us why he’s now scared of the tech he helped build. Geoffrey Hinton is a pioneer of deep learning who helped develop some of the most important techniques at the heart of modern artificial intelligence, but after a decade at Google, he’s stepped down to focus on concerns he now has about AI. Hinton is now spending his time on what he describes as “more philosophical work.” And that will focus on th

还有一件事：杰弗里·辛顿（Geoffrey Hinton）告诉我们他为什么现在害怕他帮助构建的技术。杰弗里·辛顿是深度学习的先驱，他帮助开发了一些现代人工智能核心中最重要技术，但在谷歌工作十年后，他辞职了，专注于他现在对人工智能的担忧。辛顿现在将时间花在他所描述的“更具哲学性的工作”上。而这将专注于……