The Download: controlling AI agents and “Super Intelligence” loyalty tests

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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.

这是今日份的《下载》（The Download），我们平日更新的简报，为您提供每日科技界动态。

How “reverse game theory” could keep AI agents in check: A new approach known as “reverse game theory” aims to control powerful AI models by designing systems that incentivize them to stick to the rules. While game theory predicts how rational actors behave under particular rules, reverse game theory designs rules to elicit the behavior we want. Think of splitting a cake: if one person cuts it and the other gets first choice, the cutter has an incentive to make the portions equal. Researchers believe the approach could align AI more closely with our rules and instructions. But big questions remain about whether these mechanisms will work in practice. Here’s how reverse game theory could help make AI agents behave. —Amit Katwala

“逆向博弈论”如何约束人工智能代理：一种被称为“逆向博弈论”的新方法旨在通过设计激励机制，促使强大的人工智能模型遵守规则。博弈论预测理性参与者在特定规则下的行为，而逆向博弈论则通过设计规则来诱导我们期望的行为。以分蛋糕为例：如果一个人切蛋糕，另一个人先选，那么切蛋糕的人就有动力将份额切得一样大。研究人员认为，这种方法可以使人工智能更紧密地符合我们的规则和指令。但这些机制在实践中是否有效，仍存在重大疑问。以下是逆向博弈论如何帮助规范人工智能代理行为的分析。——阿米特·卡特瓦拉（Amit Katwala）

Here’s who is falling in line for Trump’s “Super Intelligence” loyalty test: At the end of September, President Trump signed an executive order with just one directive: government agencies must rebrand artificial intelligence as “Super Intelligence.” One month on, the rebrand is slowly appearing across government websites and documents, but it hasn’t caught on with everyone. Even some of the biggest names in tech still use “AI.” But the bigger concern is the new term becoming a political loyalty test: Those who use it signal allegiance to the administration. Those who don’t become targets for attacks. So one month in, who’s on board? —James O’Donnell

谁在追随特朗普的“超级智能”忠诚度测试：9月底，特朗普总统签署了一项行政命令，其中只有一项指令：政府机构必须将“人工智能”更名为“超级智能”。一个月过去了，这一品牌重塑正缓慢出现在政府网站和文件中，但并未被所有人接受。即使是一些科技巨头仍在使用“AI”。但更令人担忧的是，这个新术语正成为一种政治忠诚度测试：使用它的人是在向政府表忠心，而不使用的人则成为攻击目标。那么，一个月过去了，谁在支持这一做法？——詹姆斯·奥唐奈（James O’Donnell）

The must-reads: I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1. Today’s midterms will test AI’s influence on US politics. 2. Nvidia is ordering data centre clients to limit their business with China. 3. Hackers have turned supermarket fridges into a food security risk. 4. Scientists have detected signals at the smallest scale ever explored. 5. Zapping part of the brain makes you think harder—at a cost. 6. Big tech is splurging on mega gas plants to power data centers. 7. Google says an Android partner infected 1.3 million devices. 8. Apple is trying to create its first robot. 9. China’s biggest shopping festival has a new product to sell: AI. 10. A meteorite in the Sahara has revealed new clues about Mars.

必读内容：我已搜遍互联网，为您找出今天最有趣、最重要、最可怕或最引人入胜的科技新闻。1. 今天的期中选举将考验人工智能对美国政治的影响。2. 英伟达要求数据中心客户限制与中国的业务往来。3. 黑客将超市冰箱变成了食品安全隐患。4. 科学家探测到了有史以来最小尺度的信号。5. 电击大脑部分区域能让你思考更深入，但有代价。6. 大型科技公司正斥巨资建设大型天然气工厂以驱动数据中心。7. 谷歌称一家安卓合作伙伴感染了130万台设备。8. 苹果正试图制造其首款机器人。9. 中国最大的购物节有了新产品：人工智能。10. 撒哈拉沙漠的一颗陨石揭示了关于火星的新线索。

Quote of the day: “Don’t spend money unduly by asking a human expert to enter into a debate with a robot expert.” —Steven Benmor, a family lawyer, tells the Wall Street Journal that clients increasingly need to pay human experts to correct advice they’ve received from chatbots.

每日名言：“不要花冤枉钱去请人类专家与机器人专家辩论。”——家庭律师史蒂文·本莫（Steven Benmor）告诉《华尔街日报》，客户越来越需要付费请人类专家来纠正他们从聊天机器人那里得到的建议。

One more thing: The noise we make is hurting animals. Can we learn to shut up? As human society has expanded, animals have started struggling to hear one another. For many birds, the noise has grown so loud that they’ve begun to sing with faster trills. Now, their mating calls aren’t as effective. The growing hubbub can also increase bird-on-bird conflict, and entire species that can’t handle urban clamor simply leave town for good. But there are technological solutions to the noises hurting animals—and they could help humans, too.

最后一件事：我们制造的噪音正在伤害动物。我们能学会安静吗？随着人类社会的扩张，动物们开始难以听清彼此的声音。对于许多鸟类来说，噪音变得如此之大，以至于它们开始用更快的颤音鸣叫。现在，它们的求偶鸣叫效果大打折扣。日益增长的喧嚣也会增加鸟类之间的冲突，而那些无法适应城市喧闹的物种干脆永久离开了城镇。但目前已有技术解决方案来应对伤害动物的噪音，这些方案或许也能帮助人类。