The Download: dead startups fueling AI and interspecies communication

本文为原文前 6,000 字符的节选翻译，完整内容请查看原文。

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.

这是今天的《下载》栏目，我们平日的通讯，为您提供每日科技界动态。

AI labs are buying data from dead startups to train their models When Keelan Miskell began winding down his crypto startup, he didn’t think its data was worth much. But he’s since turned the company’s digital archives into tens of thousands of dollars, selling its codebase and workspace data. He’s part of a growing market in which companies that help shut down startups sell their data to AI labs. Demand has grown as training labs hit the limits of public and synthetic datasets, with buyers seeking real-world records to help train AI agents. But the sales raise legal and ethical questions. Read the full story on the AI labs buying up the remains of failed startups. —Matthew King

人工智能实验室正在购买倒闭初创公司的数据来训练模型。当基兰·米斯凯尔（Keelan Miskell）开始关闭他的加密货币初创公司时，他并不认为其数据有多大价值。但此后，他通过出售公司的代码库和工作空间数据，将这些数字档案变成了数万美元。他所处的市场正在增长，专门协助关闭初创公司的企业会将数据出售给人工智能实验室。随着训练实验室达到公共和合成数据集的极限，买家寻求真实世界的记录来帮助训练人工智能代理，需求随之增长。但这些销售引发了法律和伦理问题。阅读关于人工智能实验室收购失败初创公司遗留资产的完整报道。——马修·金（Matthew King）

Are we there yet? Interspecies communication Humans are far from the only species with a gift for gab, and our furry, feathered, and finned friends could have a lot to tell us. Decoding how animals communicate with one another could reveal the inner lives of other species—and give humans a window onto how they see the world. A growing arsenal of devices and advances in AI have made it easier to study their howls, squeaks, and clicks, but making sense of it all remains complex. Find out how close we are to interspecies communication. —Cassandra Willyard

我们到了吗？跨物种交流。人类远非唯一拥有交流天赋的物种，我们毛茸茸、长羽毛和长鳍的朋友们可能有很多话要告诉我们。解码动物之间如何交流可以揭示其他物种的内心世界，并为人类提供一个观察它们如何看待世界的窗口。越来越多的设备和人工智能的进步使得研究它们的嚎叫、吱吱声和咔哒声变得更加容易，但要理解这一切仍然很复杂。了解我们距离跨物种交流还有多远。——卡桑德拉·威利亚德（Cassandra Willyard）

This story is part of “Are we there yet?”, our series that takes stock of six technologies that have long promised to change the world—and scores them on a progress meter. We’re exploring each one in The Download, so stay tuned, and subscribe to read the rest of the stories in our new Impossible issue. MIT Technology Review

这篇报道属于我们的系列专题“我们到了吗？”，该系列盘点了六项长期承诺改变世界的科技，并用进度表对它们进行评分。我们将在《下载》中逐一探讨，敬请关注，并订阅以阅读我们新一期“不可能”特刊中的其余报道。——《麻省理工科技评论》

Narrated: what it would take to build a city on the moon 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.

语音版：在月球上建立城市需要什么？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个小型的月球城市。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、锋利的月尘和剧烈温差的影响。它还必须具备一定的自我维持能力。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。但主要的障碍可能在于政治意愿。

This is our latest story to become an MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we publish each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.

这是我们最新成为《麻省理工科技评论》语音播客的故事，我们每周在 Spotify 和 Apple Podcasts 上发布。只需在任一平台上导航至“MIT Technology Review Narrated”，并关注我们，即可在第一时间获取所有新内容。

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：我梳理了互联网，为您找到今天关于科技的最有趣、最重要、最可怕和最引人入胜的故事。

1 Hackers have disrupted the US Federal Election Commission’s website The FEC filing system went offline a week before the midterms. (Reuters $)+ The attack is hiding spending data during the costliest midterms ever. (Gizmodo)+ Social media platforms are struggling to contain AI election lies. (Guardian)+ Software flaws in US voting machines threaten election security. (Axios)+ A blueprint for using AI to strengthen democracy. (MIT Technology Review)

1. 黑客扰乱了美国联邦选举委员会的网站。FEC 申报系统在期中选举前一周下线。（路透社 $）+ 这次攻击在史上最昂贵的期中选举期间隐藏了支出数据。（Gizmodo）+ 社交媒体平台正努力遏制人工智能选举谎言。（卫报）+ 美国投票机中的软件缺陷威胁到选举安全。（Axios）+ 利用人工智能加强民主的蓝图。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

2 Starlink restrictions have driven US allies to rethink their dependence Restrictions in Ukraine have spooked officials across Europe. (Bloomberg $)+ And given European firms a new pitch for their rival services. (Axios)+ An Israeli spy firm allegedly targeted Starlink users. (Reuters $)+ Stratospheric internet could take off this year. (MIT Technology Review)

2. 星链（Starlink）的限制促使美国盟友重新思考其依赖性。在乌克兰的限制措施令欧洲各地的官员感到恐慌。（彭博社 $）+ 并为欧洲公司推销其竞争服务提供了新的理由。（Axios）+ 一家以色列间谍公司据称针对了星链用户。（路透社 $）+ 平流层互联网今年可能会起飞。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

3 Greenhouse gas levels keep reaching new records worldwide Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are all on the up. (New Scientist $)+ Trump is making it easier for fossil fuel companies to leak methane. (Verge)+ The IPCC is fighting for survival. (Nature)+ How to study a swiftly melting climate disaster. (MIT Technology Review)

3. 全球温室气体水平不断创下新纪录。二氧化碳、甲烷和一氧化二氮都在上升。（《新科学家》$）+ 特朗普正在让化石燃料公司更容易泄漏甲烷。（Verge）+ 政府间气候变化专门委员会（IPCC）正在为生存而战。（《自然》）+ 如何研究迅速融化的气候灾难。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

4 Monkeys’ brains have revealed new clues about consciousness Their neural activity encodes images that escape their awareness. (Nature)+ Bees’ feelings are also changing views of consciousness. (New Scientist $)+ Debates over AI consciousness are a trap. (MIT Technology Review)

4. 猴子的大脑揭示了关于意识的新线索。它们的神经活动编码了它们意识之外的图像。（《自然》）+ 蜜蜂的感受也在改变人们对意识的看法。（《新科学家》$）+ 关于人工智能意识的辩论是一个陷阱。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

5 Chinese scientists have developed a catalyst to make Mars rocket fuel It converts Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide into liquid methanol. (SCMP)

5. 中国科学家开发出一种制造火星火箭燃料的催化剂。它能将火星大气中的二氧化碳转化为液态甲醇。（《南华早报》）

6 Tech billionaires have teamed up against California’s wealth tax Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt, and others have funded a major campaign. (NYT $)

6. 科技亿万富翁联手反对加州的财富税。谢尔盖·布林（Sergey Brin）、埃里克·施密特（Eric Schmidt）等人资助了一场大型运动。（《纽约时报》$）

7 Delaware plans to let AI agents run entire businesses The proposal could let owners evade responsibility for harm. (Ars Technica)+ A better web for AI agents could hurt humans. (MIT Technology Review)

7. 特拉华州计划允许人工智能代理经营整个企业。该提案可能让所有者逃避伤害责任。（Ars Technica）+ 为人工智能代理构建更好的网络可能会伤害人类。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

8 Palmer Luckey has unveiled plans for American-made military laptops Anduril will build rugged PCs in Ohio using Qualcomm chips. (WSJ $)

8. 帕尔默·拉奇（Palmer Luckey）公布了美国制造军用笔记本电脑的计划。Anduril 将在俄亥俄州使用高通芯片制造坚固耐用的个人电脑。（《华尔街日报》$）

9 Gen Z is turning away from the social media it grew up with Young people are fueling a boom in digital detox tools. (Guardian)

9. Z 世代正在远离他们成长过程中使用的社交媒体。年轻人正在推动数字排毒工具的繁荣。（《卫报》）

10 Trump now wants to ban the term “artificial intelligence” He’s demanding we all start using “Super Intelligence.” (Gizmodo)

10. 特朗普现在想要禁用“人工智能”一词。他要求我们所有人都开始使用“超级智能”。（Gizmodo）

Quote of the day “For the next two years, we’re going to be living in a state where, on average, every week there is a critical, internet-wide vulnerability.” —Matthew Prince, Cloudflare’s chief executive, tells the New York Times that AI is currently finding software vulnerabilities quicker than they can be patched.

今日名言：“在接下来的两年里，我们将生活在这样一种状态中：平均每周都会出现一个影响整个互联网的关键漏洞。”——Cloudflare 首席执行官马修·普林斯（Matthew Prince）告诉《纽约时报》，人工智能目前发现软件漏洞的速度比修复漏洞的速度还要快。

One more thing Inside the controversial tree farms powering Apple’s carbon-neutral goal In 2020, Apple set a goal to become net zero by the end of the decade. To hit that target, the company is offsetting its emissions by planting millions of eucalyptus trees in Brazil. Apple is betting that the strategy will lead to a greener future. But critics warn that the industrial tree farms will do more harm than good. Here’s why the plans have sparked a backlash. —Gregory Barber

还有一件事：深入了解助力苹果碳中和目标的争议性树木农场。2020 年，苹果设定了在本世纪末实现净零排放的目标。为了实现这一目标，该公司通过在巴西种植数百万棵桉树来抵消其排放。苹果押注这一战略将带来更绿色的未来。但批评人士警告称，工业化树木农场弊大于利。这就是这些计划引发强烈反对的原因。——格雷戈里·巴伯（Gregory Barber）

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.) + Ugly shoes have become be

我们依然可以拥有美好的事物：一个提供舒适、乐趣和消遣的地方，让您的一天变得明亮。（有什么想法吗？给我写信。）+ 丑鞋已经成为……