The Download: Anthropic’s IPO, smarter power grids, and exercise pills

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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. Will the real Anthropic please stand up? After weeks of frenzied speculation, Anthropic has filed its IPO prospectus. The 335-page document (100 pages or so are focused on risks) lays out the company’s unique view of the technology it is building and how it believes it will change the world. But Anthropic has been honing its storytelling skills for years. Its public messaging is a master class in narrative capture, presenting it as different things to different people: an AI safety organization, a profit-driven megacorp, and a group hell-bent on creating superhuman technology. These roles come with huge tensions. Will the IPO reveal the company behind the mask, or lean deeper into the myth-making? Take a new glimpse inside Anthropic. —Will Douglas Heaven

这是今日份的《下载》（The Download），我们平日的通讯，为您提供每日科技界动态。真正的 Anthropic 到底是什么样？经过数周的疯狂猜测，Anthropic 终于提交了其 IPO 招股说明书。这份长达 335 页的文件（其中约 100 页专注于风险）阐述了该公司对其正在构建的技术的独特见解，以及它认为该技术将如何改变世界。但 Anthropic 多年来一直在磨练其讲故事的技巧。其公开信息传递是叙事捕捉的典范，向不同的人展示了不同的形象：一家人工智能安全组织、一家以利润为导向的大型企业，以及一个致力于创造超人类技术的团体。这些角色之间存在巨大的张力。这次 IPO 是会揭开面具背后的公司真相，还是会进一步加深神话的构建？让我们一窥 Anthropic 的内部。——Will Douglas Heaven

This story is from The Algorithm, our weekly AI newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Monday. How solid-state transformers could help power the AI boom Transformers are a crucial but nearly invisible part of the US grid, helping efficiently move power across long distances. But they’re complicated and in short supply, and their basic design hasn’t changed much in about a century. As electricity demand rises from EVs, data centers, and more, researchers and companies are looking to modernize these grid staples. Solid-state versions could help ease supply concerns and cut power losses. The technology is still in development, but it could become a crucial part of our future grid. Find out how solid-state transformers could help meet rising electricity demand. —Casey Crownhart

本文摘自我们的每周人工智能通讯《算法》（The Algorithm）。欢迎订阅，每周一在您的收件箱中接收。固态变压器如何助力人工智能热潮？变压器是美国电网中至关重要但几乎不可见的一部分，有助于在长距离内高效传输电力。但它们结构复杂且供应短缺，其基本设计在一个世纪以来几乎没有改变。随着电动汽车、数据中心等用电需求的增加，研究人员和公司正寻求对这些电网支柱进行现代化改造。固态版本有助于缓解供应担忧并减少电力损耗。该技术尚处于开发阶段，但可能成为我们未来电网的关键部分。了解固态变压器如何帮助满足日益增长的电力需求。——Casey Crownhart

Are we there yet? Exercise in a pill We all know exercise is good for us. It builds muscle, strengthens bones, lowers blood pressure, and boosts mood. By deciphering how movement benefits the body, researchers hope to develop medicines that can offer some of the same perks, without the workout. The idea isn’t to replace exercise but to bring its upsides to people who struggle with frailty, disability, or chronic illness. Discover how close researchers are to developing an exercise pill. —Cassandra Willyard

快到了吗？运动药丸。我们都知道运动对我们有好处。它能增强肌肉、强健骨骼、降低血压并改善情绪。通过破译运动如何造福身体，研究人员希望开发出无需锻炼就能提供部分相同益处的药物。其目的不是取代运动，而是为那些受虚弱、残疾或慢性病困扰的人带来运动的好处。了解研究人员距离开发出运动药丸还有多远。——Cassandra Willyard

This story is part of “Are we there yet?” from the new Impossible issue of MIT Technology Review. The series takes stock of six technologies that have long promised to change the world—and scores them on a progress meter. Over the next six days, we’ll explore each one in The Download.

本文是《麻省理工科技评论》新一期“不可能”特刊中“快到了吗？”系列的一部分。该系列盘点了六项长期以来承诺改变世界的科技，并用进度表对它们进行了评分。在接下来的六天里，我们将在《下载》中逐一探讨。

The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Anthropic has filed for its blockbuster IPO. The listing could determine the future of the AI investment boom. (CNBC)+ The filing warns of catastrophic AI risks and huge compute costs. (BBC)+ And exposes safety failures and a month-long training pause. (Reuters $)+ The prospectus reveals soaring revenues but also staggering losses. (NYT $)+ Anthropic’s founders will retain voting control after the IPO. (Verge)

必读内容：我梳理了互联网，为您找到今天最有趣/重要/可怕/迷人的科技故事。1. Anthropic 已提交其重磅 IPO 申请。此次上市可能决定人工智能投资热潮的未来。（CNBC）+ 招股书警告了灾难性的人工智能风险和巨大的计算成本。（BBC）+ 揭露了安全故障和长达一个月的训练暂停。（路透社 $）+ 招股书显示收入飙升，但也伴随着惊人的亏损。（纽约时报 $）+ Anthropic 的创始人在 IPO 后将保留投票控制权。（Verge）

2 Solar is quietly overtaking nuclear as a global power source. Cheap panels and batteries are accelerating the shift. (BBC)+ The balcony solar boom is coming to the US. (MIT Technology Review)

2. 太阳能正在悄然超越核能，成为全球能源来源。廉价的电池板和电池正在加速这一转变。（BBC）+ 阳台太阳能热潮即将来临美国。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

3 OpenAI has announced three new science discoveries. They span mathematics, computer science, and physics. (Verge)+ It’s enlisted expert “shepherds” to publish its breakthroughs. (Gizmodo)

3. OpenAI 宣布了三项新的科学发现。它们涵盖数学、计算机科学和物理学。（Verge）+ 它聘请了专家“引导者”来发布其突破性成果。（Gizmodo）

4 Microsoft is offering buyouts to a quarter of staff amid rising AI costs. Around 60,000 employees are eligible for the buyout program. (Bloomberg $)+ Microsoft plans $190 billion in AI spending this year. (NYT $)

4. 在人工智能成本上升的背景下，微软正向四分之一的员工提供买断方案。约 6 万名员工有资格参加该买断计划。（彭博社 $）+ 微软计划今年在人工智能上投入 1900 亿美元。（纽约时报 $）

5 The plastics industry knew microplastics could enter the body decades ago. Company documents reveal concerns dating back to 1974. (LA Times $)+ No part of the globe is free of human fingerprints. (MIT Technology Review)

5. 塑料行业几十年前就知道微塑料会进入人体。公司文件显示，相关担忧可追溯至 1974 年。（洛杉矶时报 $）+ 全球没有任何地方能摆脱人类的指纹。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

6 A demonstration of lighting Earth from space has sparked alarm. Startup Reflect Orbital used space mirrors for the California test. (Guardian)+ The tech could jeopardize the night sky. (MIT Technology Review)

6. 一项从太空照亮地球的演示引发了警报。初创公司 Reflect Orbital 在加州的测试中使用了太空镜。（卫报）+ 该技术可能会危及夜空。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

7 The US has designated helium a critical material. The move is due to its importance to semiconductor production. (AP)

7. 美国已将氦气指定为关键材料。此举是因为它对半导体生产的重要性。（美联社）

8 Hundreds of Boston Dynamics staff have protested its ICE deal. They’ve called for a halt to sales of the robot dogs. (Ars Technica)

8. 数百名波士顿动力公司的员工抗议其与美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）的交易。他们呼吁停止销售机器狗。（Ars Technica）

9 Treatments for age-related infertility are being developed at last. Two startups aim to reduce chromosome errors in eggs. (Economist $)+ Here’s how tech transformed babymaking. (MIT Technology Review)

9. 与年龄相关的生育能力治疗终于得到开发。两家初创公司旨在减少卵子中的染色体错误。（经济学人 $）+ 科技如何改变了生育。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

10 Grok says its AI-generated Odyssey is “not historically accurate”. The bot itself admitted Elon Musk’s filmmaking plan has failed. (Wired $)

10. Grok 表示其人工智能生成的《奥德赛》“在历史上并不准确”。该机器人自己承认埃隆·马斯克的电影制作计划已经失败。（连线 $）

Quote of the day: “It’s as if they’re making a promise and crossing their fingers behind their backs.” —Kate Brennan, who leads policy at the AI Now Institute, tells the New York Times that the voluntary safety pledges AI executives recently made are toothless and unenforceable.

今日名言：“这就像他们一边许下承诺，一边在背后交叉手指（表示虚伪）。”——AI Now Institute 的政策负责人 Kate Brennan 对《纽约时报》表示，人工智能高管最近做出的自愿安全承诺是软弱无力且无法执行的。

One more thing: MCKIBILLO The problem with thinking you’re part Neanderthal. There’s a theory that many of us have an “inner Neanderthal.” The idea is that Homo sapiens and its cousin species once bred, leaving some people today with a trace of Neanderthal DNA. This DNA is arguably the 21st century’s most celebrated discovery in human evolution. But in 2024, a pair of French geneticists called into question the theory’s very foundations. They proposed that what scientists interpret as interbreeding could instead be explained by population structure—the way genes concentrate in smaller, isolated groups. Find out what it all means for human evolution. —Ben Crair

最后一件事：MCKIBILLO。认为自己有尼安德特人血统的问题。有一种理论认为我们许多人都有一个“内在的尼安德特人”。这个观点是智人及其近亲物种曾经繁衍，导致今天的一些人留下了尼安德特人的 DNA 痕迹。这种 DNA 可以说是 21 世纪人类进化史上最著名的发现。但在 2024 年，两位法国遗传学家对该理论的基础提出了质疑。他们提出，科学家所解释的杂交，实际上可以用种群结构来解释——即基因在较小、孤立的群体中集中的方式。了解这对人类进化意味着什么。——Ben Crair

We can still have nice things: A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.) + See how fast the planets spin with this dizzying animation that puts faces on each one.+ A flask of mercury, a little neon, and some shaking produce this mesmerizing homemade light.+ What can the USA’s earliest restaurants teach us about the country? This digital colle

我们依然可以拥有美好的事物：一个为您带来舒适、乐趣和消遣的地方，点亮您的一天。（有什么想法吗？给我写信。）+ 通过这个令人眩晕的动画，看看行星旋转的速度，每个行星上都有人脸。+ 一瓶汞、一点氖气和一些摇晃，产生了这种迷人的自制光。+ 美国最早的餐馆能教会我们关于这个国家的什么？这个数字收藏