Musk v. Altman Kicks Off, DOJ Guts Voting Rights Unit, and Is the AI Job Apocalypse Overhyped?
Musk v. Altman Kicks Off, DOJ Guts Voting Rights Unit, and Is the AI Job Apocalypse Overhyped?
马斯克诉奥特曼案开庭，司法部投票权部门遭“掏空”，AI引发的就业末日论是否言过其实？
This week on Uncanny Valley, the team discusses the stakes behind the trial of Elon Musk against OpenAI’s leadership (and how Microsoft is trying to stay away from the drama). They also look into what recent layoffs announced at Meta and the industry at large say about the ways in which AI is—and isn’t—replacing jobs. Also, we dive into a WIRED investigation on how the Department of Justice has effectively hollowed out its voting rights work, and how this move could impact future elections.
在本周的《Uncanny Valley》节目中，团队讨论了埃隆·马斯克起诉 OpenAI 领导层一案背后的利害关系（以及微软如何试图远离这场风波）。他们还探讨了 Meta 及整个行业近期宣布的裁员潮，分析了 AI 在哪些方面正在——以及并未——取代人类工作。此外，我们还深入探讨了《连线》（WIRED）的一项调查，揭示了美国司法部是如何实质性地“掏空”其投票权保护工作的，以及这一举措可能对未来选举产生的影响。
Zoë Schiffer: Welcome to WIRED’s Uncanny Valley. I’m Zoë Schiffer, director of business and industry. Zoë Schiffer： 欢迎收听《连线》的《Uncanny Valley》。我是商业与行业总监 Zoë Schiffer。
Brian Barrett: I’m Brian Barrett, executive editor. Brian Barrett： 我是执行主编 Brian Barrett。
Leah Feiger: And I’m Leah Feiger, director of politics and science. Leah Feiger： 我是政治与科学总监 Leah Feiger。
Zoë Schiffer: Today on the show, we’re going to a federal courthouse in Oakland, California, to take a look at what has been going down in the Elon Musk versus Sam Altman trial. We’re going to get into how the trial goes way beyond the rivalry between these two guys and could have major implications both for OpenAI, but also for the AI industry at large. Zoë Schiffer： 今天节目中，我们将前往加利福尼亚州奥克兰市的一家联邦法院，看看埃隆·马斯克诉山姆·奥特曼（Sam Altman）一案的进展。我们将深入探讨这场审判如何超越了两人之间的个人恩怨，并可能对 OpenAI 乃至整个 AI 行业产生重大影响。
Brian Barrett: Speaking of AI, we’ll also discuss whether Meta’s recent layoffs are a turning point for AI taking over certain jobs. Brian Barrett： 说到 AI，我们还将讨论 Meta 近期的裁员是否标志着 AI 接管特定工作岗位的转折点。
Leah Feiger: And we’re going to touch on a story that has gone a little bit under the radar, but it matters now more than ever. The DOJ voting section has been gutted this past year. Dozens of lawyers have been ousted, and these lawyers were the ones in the government that were upholding the Voting Rights Act. Lots to get into. Leah Feiger： 我们还将触及一个鲜为人知但如今至关重要的议题。过去一年里，美国司法部的投票权部门已被“掏空”。数十名律师被解雇，而这些律师正是政府中负责维护《投票权法案》的人员。有很多内容值得深入探讨。
Zoë Schiffer: OK. So let’s kick things off with the Elon Musk versus Sam Altman trial. So the jury trial kicked off earlier this week, but the legal feud between these two guys dates back to 2024. Back then, Musk sued OpenAI, basically alleging two things. First, he said that the company had strayed from its founding mission to create AI that benefits all of humanity. And second, that he was misled by Sam Altman and OpenAI’s president, Greg Brockman, into contributing millions of dollars because he thought he was supporting a nonprofit. As you might have guessed, OpenAI’s very weird structure is kind of central to this dispute. While its nonprofit arm controls the company, it created a for-profit arm to raise outside capital, and now it’s trying to become a public benefit corporation. OpenAI has denied the allegations. They’re saying that Musk just wants to hurt OpenAI because now he has a competitive AI lab, which is xAI. And in fact, the lawsuit was only filed after Musk started xAI, although the feud has been going on basically since Elon Musk left OpenAI years and years ago. Now, it’s up to a jury and the judge who’s overseeing the case to ultimately decide what happens next. Zoë Schiffer： 好的，让我们从马斯克诉奥特曼案开始。陪审团审判于本周早些时候开始，但两人之间的法律纠纷可以追溯到 2024 年。当时，马斯克起诉 OpenAI，主要指控两点：首先，他称该公司背离了其创建造福全人类的 AI 的初衷；其次，他被山姆·奥特曼和 OpenAI 总裁格雷格·布罗克曼（Greg Brockman）误导，捐赠了数百万美元，因为他以为自己是在支持一家非营利组织。正如你可能猜到的，OpenAI 非常奇特的结构是这场纠纷的核心。虽然其非营利部门控制着公司，但它又创建了一个营利性部门来筹集外部资金，现在它还试图转型为一家公益公司（Public Benefit Corporation）。OpenAI 否认了这些指控。他们表示，马斯克只是想伤害 OpenAI，因为他现在拥有一个竞争对手 AI 实验室——xAI。事实上，这起诉讼是在马斯克创办 xAI 之后才提起的，尽管两人之间的恩怨基本上从马斯克多年前离开 OpenAI 时就开始了。现在，最终结果将由陪审团和负责此案的法官来决定。
Leah Feiger: This is something so aggressively not on my beat that I am watching. I don’t know. The last time that I paid this much attention to a trial that was not politically aligned was like maybe Anna Delvey. This is so interesting to me. Leah Feiger： 这件事完全不在我的报道领域内，但我却一直在关注。我不知道，上一次我如此关注一场与政治无关的审判，可能还是安娜·德尔维（Anna Delvey）案。这对我来说太有趣了。
Zoë Schiffer: We got her, you guys. We finally found the thing to make Leah care about AI. Zoë Schiffer： 伙计们，我们成功了。我们终于找到了能让 Leah 关心 AI 的东西。
Brian Barrett: Amazing. We did it. Brian Barrett： 太棒了。我们做到了。
Leah Feiger: This is so good though. This is so juicy. I love that this is going back to the beginning. I love that a really key part of this is Elon Musk being like, “I made a charitable donation and it’s not charity now and I’m pissed.” Leah Feiger： 不过这真的很有意思，太劲爆了。我喜欢这种追根溯源的感觉。我喜欢这其中一个关键点是马斯克说：“我做了慈善捐款，但现在它不再是慈善了，我非常生气。”
Brian Barrett: I think too, Leah, that one of the reasons it’s not just that they’re like big stakes, of course they’re big stakes, but these are also very messy companies, individuals. It is gossip. There is so much swirling around OpenAI, xAI, SpaceX, Elon himself. The whole thing is a great big mess. I think even Zoë just talking about even the structure of OpenAI is the most convoluted, twisty, turny kind of thing. So, yeah, there is a lot to unpack, but most of all, just delightful to watch people be petty on the stand. Billionaire versus billionaire violence. Brian Barrett： Leah，我认为原因不仅在于利害关系重大——当然确实重大——还在于这些公司和个人本身就非常混乱。这简直就是八卦。围绕 OpenAI、xAI、SpaceX 以及埃隆本人，有太多的传闻。整件事就是一团乱麻。我觉得即使是刚才 Zoë 提到的 OpenAI 的结构，也是最复杂、最曲折的东西。所以，是的，有很多值得深挖的地方，但最重要的是，看着人们在证人席上斤斤计较真是太有趣了。这是亿万富翁之间的“暴力”对抗。
Zoë Schiffer: Yeah. I mean, these two men absolutely hate each other and they have for quite a long time. But again, just to get into the stakes a little bit, they’re really high for OpenAI. The company could have to unwind its current structure. Greg Brockman and Sam Altman could have to leave. And obviously, they’re pulling out all the stuffs. They have these hardcore legal teams. All of the executives are expected to testify. They’ve already been in court. And then to give you a little bit of background on just how ridiculous it has already been, Elon Musk was promoting a New Yorker profile about Sam Altman that alleged he had kind of this history of being a bit deceptive, duplicitous. He was actually boosting that post on X ahead of the trial. Sam Altman was hitting back. Another key moment that I thought was really funny was when one of the lawyers’ microphones was going in and out and the judge says, completely deadpan, “Yeah, we’re funded by the federal government.” Which I felt like was a dig right to Elon Musk and DOGE. Zoë Schiffer： 是的。我的意思是，这两个人绝对互相憎恨，而且已经很久了。但再说回利害关系，这对 OpenAI 来说确实非常高。公司可能不得不解散其现有结构。格雷格·布罗克曼和山姆·奥特曼可能不得不离职。显然，他们正在全力以赴。他们拥有强大的法律团队，所有高管预计都将出庭作证。他们已经出庭了。为了让你了解这件事有多荒谬，埃隆·马斯克曾在审判前在 X 上推广一篇关于山姆·奥特曼的《纽约客》人物专访，文中称奥特曼有欺骗和两面派的历史。他当时在 X 上大力转发那篇文章。山姆·奥特曼则进行了回击。另一个我认为非常有趣的时刻是，当其中一位律师的麦克风时断时续时，法官面无表情地说：“是啊，我们是由联邦政府资助的。”我觉得这直接讽刺了埃隆·马斯克和他的“政府效率部”（DOGE）。
Leah Feiger: This is it. This is what I’m here for. Leah Feiger： 就是这个。这就是我关注的原因。
Brian Barrett: A little DOGE dig. Here’s senior writer, Paresh Dave, Brian Barrett： 一个小小的 DOGE 讽刺。接下来是资深撰稿人 Paresh Dave。