The Download: the agentic web arrives and the drive for safer roads

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《下载》的今日版，我们平日的通讯，为您提供每日科技世界的动态。

The agentic web is here. In 2001, a decade after inventing the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee articulated a new vision: an internet navigated by autonomous software agents that address our every need, without requiring us to muck about with browsers and search engines ourselves. At the time, the idea seemed far-fetched. But a quarter-century on, AI agents are beginning to make it a reality. They can triage your inbox, do your grocery shopping, and even access your bank accounts. This new era is being called the agentic web. It will inevitably transform the internet—and whether the human web survives this transition is anyone’s guess. Find out how AI agents are transforming the internet, and what we stand to lose in the process. —Grace Huckins

“代理网络”时代已经到来。2001年，在发明万维网十年后，蒂姆·伯纳斯-李提出了一个新愿景：一个由自主软件代理导航的互联网，它们能满足我们的一切需求，而无需我们亲自摆弄浏览器和搜索引擎。当时，这个想法似乎遥不可及。但四分之一个世纪过去了，人工智能代理正开始将其变为现实。它们可以整理你的收件箱、代购杂货，甚至访问你的银行账户。这个新时代被称为“代理网络”。它将不可避免地改变互联网——人类网络能否在这一转型中幸存，谁也说不准。了解人工智能代理如何改变互联网，以及我们在此过程中可能失去什么。——格蕾丝·哈金斯

Are we there yet? Eliminating traffic deaths. Every year, traffic crashes kill more than 1 million people worldwide. They’re also the leading cause of death for children and young adults. Cheap, proven ways to make roads safer exist, including tightening intersections with planters and lowering speed limits. But government logjams and red tape can make it difficult to roll out these changes. Still, some cities are making impressive progress by investing in public transit, extending curbs, and using cameras to spot danger zones in need of a redesign. Here’s how close we are to eradicating traffic deaths. —Sara Kiley Watson

我们快到了吗？消除交通死亡事故。每年，全球有超过100万人死于交通事故。它们也是儿童和年轻人死亡的主要原因。目前已有廉价且行之有效的方法来提高道路安全性，包括利用花坛收窄路口和降低限速。但政府的僵局和官僚作风可能使这些变革难以推行。尽管如此，一些城市通过投资公共交通、扩建路缘石以及利用摄像头识别需要重新设计的危险区域，正在取得令人瞩目的进展。了解我们距离根除交通死亡事故还有多远。——萨拉·凯利·沃森

This story is the final 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. Subscribe to read the other five instalments in our new Impossible issue.

这篇报道是我们“我们快到了吗？”系列的最后一部分，该系列盘点了六项长期承诺改变世界的科技，并根据进度表对它们进行了评分。订阅即可阅读我们新一期《不可能》特刊中的其他五篇连载。

The must-reads: I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1. A $1 trillion tech selloff has deepened fears of an AI bubble. Big AI bills and weak earnings have spooked investors. (BBC) + The Nasdaq 100 had its worst day since June on Friday. (NBC News) + OpenAI has cut its funding target by $10 billion. (CNBC) + What even is the AI bubble? (MIT Technology Review)

必读内容：我梳理了互联网，为您找出今天关于科技最有趣、最重要、最可怕和最引人入胜的故事。1. 1万亿美元的科技股抛售加剧了对人工智能泡沫的担忧。高昂的人工智能账单和疲软的收益吓坏了投资者。（BBC）+ 纳斯达克100指数周五经历了自6月以来最糟糕的一天。（NBC新闻）+ OpenAI将其融资目标削减了100亿美元。（CNBC）+ 到底什么是人工智能泡沫？（《麻省理工科技评论》）

2. Hackers have hit Ukraine and Russia’s emergency alert apps. Kyiv residents were warned of “nuclear danger.” (NBC News) + Russia’s app said nuclear warheads had been launched. (CNN) + Ukraine has blamed Russia, which hasn’t yet accused anyone. (BI) + AI will transform cyber warfare. (MIT Technology Review)

3. 黑客攻击了乌克兰和俄罗斯的紧急警报应用程序。基辅居民收到了“核危险”警告。（NBC新闻）+ 俄罗斯的应用程序称核弹头已经发射。（CNN）+ 乌克兰指责俄罗斯，而俄罗斯尚未指责任何人。（BI）+ 人工智能将改变网络战。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

4. Binance users withdrew $3.6 billion after the largest ever crypto hack. The funds moved when the exchange reopened on Sunday. (Guardian) + Binance says it’s covered $6 billion of the stolen $6.3 billion. (Reuters) + But the industry’s response has undermined its “decentralized” image. (Gizmodo)

5. 在史上最大规模的加密货币黑客攻击后，币安用户提取了36亿美元。资金在周日交易所重新开放时转移。（《卫报》）+ 币安表示已覆盖了被盗63亿美元中的60亿美元。（路透社）+ 但该行业的反应削弱了其“去中心化”的形象。（Gizmodo）

6. An AI agent injected drugs into a live mouse’s brain. It chose the gene therapy and controlled the needle itself. (Wired) + We need real-time tracking of AI agents. (MIT Technology Review)

7. 一个人工智能代理向活体小鼠的大脑注射了药物。它自行选择了基因疗法并控制了针头。（《连线》）+ 我们需要对人工智能代理进行实时跟踪。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

8. Data centres have made utilities a flashpoint in the midterms. Americans are angry over rising electricity bills. (Reuters) + Virtual power plants could help. (MIT Technology Review)

9. 数据中心已使公用事业成为中期选举的焦点。美国人对不断上涨的电费感到愤怒。（路透社）+ 虚拟电厂或许能提供帮助。（《麻省理工科技评论》）

10. Apple has overtaken Nvidia as the world’s most valuable company. Investors are favouring its restraint on AI spending. (Bloomberg) + But critics say it’s entering its “slop era.” (404 Media)

11. 苹果公司已超越英伟达，成为全球市值最高的公司。投资者青睐其在人工智能支出上的克制。（彭博社）+ 但批评人士称它正在进入“平庸时代”。（404 Media）

12. Supermarket fridges have overheated in a new wave of cyberattacks. Stores in Belgium, Sweden, and Luxembourg were hit. (Politico)

13. 在新一波网络攻击中，超市冰箱出现过热。比利时、瑞典和卢森堡的商店受到影响。（Politico）

14. The first chocolate bars made from lab-grown cocoa are here. Startups are cultivating chocolate to tackle a cocoa shortage. (WSJ)

15. 首批由实验室培育的可可制成的巧克力棒问世。初创公司正在培育巧克力以应对可可短缺。（《华尔街日报》）

16. Hackers hijacked digital billboards in multiple countries to show porn. They also criticized security flaws and Egypt’s government. (Gizmodo)

17. 黑客劫持了多个国家的数字广告牌播放色情内容。他们还批评了安全漏洞和埃及政府。（Gizmodo）

18. A new 3D map reveals instability in interstellar space. The discovery could help explain why stars form so inefficiently. (Quanta)

19. 一张新的3D地图揭示了星际空间的不稳定性。这一发现可能有助于解释恒星为何形成得如此低效。（Quanta）

Quote of the day: “It would be great if all this was just a house of cards.” —Kevin Roose, a technology columnist at the New York Times, tells NPR that an AI investment crash would be preferable to the technology permanently upending work and society.

今日名言：“如果这一切只是空中楼阁，那就太好了。”——《纽约时报》科技专栏作家凯文·罗斯告诉美国国家公共电台（NPR），人工智能投资崩溃比该技术永久性地颠覆工作和社会要好。

One more thing: Useful quantum computing is inevitable—and increasingly imminent. Last year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang jolted the stock market by saying that practical quantum computing is still 15 to 30 years away. He also suggested that those computers would need Nvidia GPUs to function. But Huang’s predictions miss the mark—both on the timeline and the role his company’s technology will play. Quantum computing is rapidly converging on utility. And that’s good news, because the hope is that they will be able to perform calculations that no amount of AI or classical computation could ever achieve. Read the full story. —Peter Barrett

还有一件事：实用的量子计算是不可避免的，而且正日益临近。去年，英伟达首席执行官黄仁勋表示，实用的量子计算还需要15到30年，这震动了股市。他还暗示这些计算机需要英伟达的GPU才能运行。但黄仁勋的预测并不准确——无论是在时间表上，还是在他公司技术将发挥的作用上。量子计算正迅速趋向实用化。这是个好消息，因为人们希望它们能够执行任何数量的人工智能或经典计算都无法实现的计算。阅读全文。——彼得·巴雷特

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.) + A miniaturist has built a delightful diorama of the world’s creepiest living room. + The year’s best dog photos have been announced, and they’re very good boys and girls. + At the Green Zone golf club, you tee off in Sweden and putt in Finland, an hour in the future. + Astronomers say they’ve found the real celestial arrangement that inspired van Gogh’s The Starry Night.

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，点亮您一天的地方。（有什么想法吗？给我写信。）+ 一位微缩模型艺术家建造了一个世界上最令人毛骨悚然的客厅的精美立体模型。+ 年度最佳狗狗照片已经公布，它们都是非常乖的毛孩子。+ 在绿区高尔夫俱乐部，你在瑞典开球，在芬兰推杆，那里比瑞典快一个小时。+ 天文学家称他们发现了启发梵高《星夜》的真实天体排列。