這五大科技，將改變?nèi)祟愇磥?/h1>

所屬教程:讀金融時報學英語

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2021年10月15日

手機版

掃描二維碼方便學習和分享

《美麗新世界》的野蠻人說：“我不需要舒服。我需要上帝，需要詩，需要真正的危險，需要自由，需要善，需要罪惡?！?/p>

然而，在反烏托邦的小說之外，有沒有這樣一種可能，在保留思想自由的同時享受科技帶來的美好生活？

在未來，對于人類來說，“生老病死”或許不再是自然鐵律；機器或許比朋友更熟悉你的喜好；而天空常藍，PM2.5不再是一個眾人皆知的概念；沒人抱怨網(wǎng)絡(luò)太慢，你可以在幾分鐘之內(nèi)下載幾十部電影；智能家居也不再停留于科幻電影，叫一聲AI，它會隨時為你服務。

Biotech

生物科技

利用分子“剪刀”，癌癥或許不再是絕癥

Since the early 2000s, the cost of sequencing a human genome—determining the precise order of nucleotides within DNA molecules that defines who we are—has dropped sharply.A genome that cost $100m to sequence in 2001 can today be sequenced for roughly $1,000.

自本世紀初以來，人類基因測序（確定DNA分子內(nèi)部核苷酸的確切排序，這一排序決定了我們是誰）的價格已大幅下跌。2001年基因測序的價格高達1億美元，如今僅為1000美元左右。

This plummeting cost, along with the shortened timescales for sequencing DNA, has led to a revolution in biotechnology：gene hacking, or the ability to turn genes on and off, and to manipulate biology to our advantage.

價格下跌再加上DNA測序所需時間縮短，帶來了生物技術(shù)領(lǐng)域的革命：基因黑客技術(shù)，能夠開啟和關(guān)閉基因、操縱生物學讓其為我們所用。

The most radical branch of this new technology is “gene editing”—a process by which our DNA code can be cut and pasted using molecular “scissors” for a variety of applications, including curing diseases such as cancers and HIV.Until recently, swapping the code was an arduous process.A new DNA cut-and-paste tool known as Crispr has made the process unexpectedly simple.

這種新技術(shù)的最激進分支是“基因編輯”：利用分子“剪刀”剪切和粘貼我們的DNA編碼的過程，其用途很多，包括治愈癌癥和艾滋病等疾病。直到不久前，DNA編碼交換曾是一個困難的過程。名為Crispr的新的基因剪切與粘貼工具讓這個過程變得意外地簡單。

Crispr has been used to create disease-resistant strains of wheat and rice, alter yeast to make biofuels and reverse blindness in animals.Ultimately, it could be used to edit defects out of human embryos.

Crispr用來創(chuàng)造抗病的小麥和大米品種、改變酵母菌以制造生物燃料并治療動物失明。最終，它或許可用于消除人類胚胎中的缺陷。

生物科技一直是個充滿爭議的話題，尤其在“轉(zhuǎn)基因”食物是否安全的問題上。

據(jù)人民網(wǎng)報道，在前不久的人大五次會議記者會上，農(nóng)業(yè)部副部長張?zhí)伊终f，“轉(zhuǎn)基因技術(shù)的安全性是可控的，世界衛(wèi)生組織、歐盟委員會、國際科學理事會等眾多國際權(quán)威機構(gòu)對轉(zhuǎn)基因安全性進行了長期跟蹤、評估、監(jiān)測，結(jié)果都表明，經(jīng)過安全評價獲得政府批準的轉(zhuǎn)基因產(chǎn)品與非轉(zhuǎn)基因產(chǎn)品一樣安全”。

但我國目前未批準任何一種轉(zhuǎn)基因糧食作物商業(yè)化種植。

Artificial intelligence

人工智能

下一步，AI會像兒童一樣通過試錯習得技能

Artificial intelligence is not science fiction：it is already embedded in products we use every day.Apple's Siri assistant, Amazon's book recommendations, Facebook's news feed and Spotify's music discovery playlist are all examples of services driven by machine learning algorithms.

人工智能并非科幻小說：它已經(jīng)嵌入到我們每天使用的產(chǎn)品中。蘋果（Apple）的Siri助理、亞馬遜（Amazon）的圖書推薦、Facebook的新聞推送以及Spotify的音樂發(fā)現(xiàn)列表都是由機器學習算法驅(qū)動的服務的例子。

This decades-old science is enjoying a renaissance today because of the deluge of data created by smartphones and sensors, and the supercomputing power that is available to crunch that data.According to technology research firm Tractica, the AI market will grow from $643.7m in 2016 to $36.8bn by 2025.

這門擁有幾十年歷史的科學如今正經(jīng)歷復興，因為智能手機和傳感器創(chuàng)造了大量數(shù)據(jù)，并且如今我們有了能夠處理這些數(shù)據(jù)的超級運算能力。根據(jù)科技研究機構(gòu)Tractica的數(shù)據(jù)，人工智能市場的規(guī)模將從2016年的6.437億美元擴大到2025年的368億美元。

Techniques such as deep learning and neural networks supposedly mimic the human brain：they spot broad patterns in enormous data sets in order to label images, recognise voices and make decisions.

據(jù)說，深度學習和神經(jīng)網(wǎng)絡(luò)等技術(shù)會模仿人腦：它們會識別大量數(shù)據(jù)集中各種大的模式，以實現(xiàn)對圖片的歸類、識別聲音和做出決定。

The next step is artificial general intelligence：an algorithm that will not have to be taught a specific skill such as a game of chess or a new language, but will acquire it through trial and error, just as a child does.Companies such as London-based DeepMind, owned by Google, and others are working to make this a reality.

下一步是通用型人工智能：這種算法不需要被教授具體技能（例如下棋或一門新的語言），而是會通過試錯法來習得技能，就像兒童所做的那樣?？偛课挥趥惗氐腄eepMind（由谷歌（Google）所有）等公司以及其他公司正致力于讓這變?yōu)楝F(xiàn)實。

2016年3月15日下午，韓國棋手李世石在與人工智能程序Alpha Go的對決中落敗。據(jù)財新報道，中國科學院副院長譚鐵牛在2016年中國人工智能大會上表示人工智能熱潮下尤其需要冷思考：

“Alpha Go在圍棋上的表現(xiàn)確實提高了人們對人工智能的期望。但是，希望太高，如果沒有實現(xiàn)，人們會非常的失望，甚至絕望。深度學習目前還存在明顯局限性，尤其是在任務切換和對小樣本的舉一反三方面，人工智能與人類還是相差甚遠。”

Renewable energy

可再生能源

想與霧霾永別？清潔能源幫你實現(xiàn)

World leaders last year ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change.

世界各國領(lǐng)導人去年批準了《巴黎氣候協(xié)議》（Paris Agreement）。

This aims to keep the global average temperature from rising more than 2C above pre-industrial levels and to attempt to keep the increase under 1.5C.Keeping this promise will require more renewable energy research over the next decade.

該協(xié)議旨在阻止全球平均氣溫較工業(yè)時代以前的水平升高2攝氏度以上，并試圖將升溫幅度控制在1.5攝氏度以下。兌現(xiàn)這一承諾將需要在未來10年加大可再生能源研究。

In energy, researchers are trying to build a nuclear fusion reactor that would tap the same process that causes the sun to give off light and heat to create a source of clean energy.An intergovernmental partnership is building a $19bn fusion reactor, ITER, in France.Other innovations include artificial photosynthesis to make hydrocarbons in laboratories to power cars, and high-altitude wind power that involves kites and hot-air balloons acting as aerial wind turbines.

在能源領(lǐng)域，研究人員正試圖建造一個核聚變反應堆，利用與太陽發(fā)光發(fā)熱原理相同的過程，創(chuàng)造出一個清潔能源來源。一項政府間合作計劃正在法國建造一個190億美元的核聚變反應堆ITER。其他創(chuàng)新計劃包括：人工光合作用，在實驗室中制造碳氫化合物為汽車提供動力；高海拔風電廠，把風箏和熱氣球作為空中風力渦輪。

Iceland is investing in geothermal technology, drilling for heat energy underground.Thirty years ago it started by using geothermal resources to heat towns and cities.Now, the entire country's electricity and heating systems are powered almost fully by renewable energy, including geothermal and hydropower.

冰島正在投資發(fā)展地熱技術(shù)，通過鉆探開采地下熱能。30年前，該國開始利用地熱資源為城鎮(zhèn)供暖。如今，整個國家的電力和供暖系統(tǒng)幾乎全部依靠可再生能源，包括地熱和水電。

比爾蓋茨公眾號在3月15日發(fā)文《陽光變?nèi)剂?？我們能比大自然做的更好！》?/p>

他所探訪的加州理工學院的內(nèi)特實驗室正在研究如何能利用太陽的巨大能量來制造燃料，從而為汽車、卡車、輪船和飛機提供動力。

文中介紹，內(nèi)特團隊正在研究一種由塑料“細胞”組成的人造草皮，這種草皮可以很容易被鋪開來吸收陽光、制造燃料。

Connectivity

網(wǎng)絡(luò)接入技術(shù)

比WiFi速度更快的LiFi，聽說了嗎？

WiFi—a household staple that modern children take for granted—turned 25 last September.As more objects connect to the “internet of things”—an estimated 50bn of them by 2020, according to estimates from technology company Cisco—the future of WiFi lies in reducing the power it drains from internet-enabled devices.

WiFi是現(xiàn)代兒童眼中理所當然的家庭標配，去年9月，這項技術(shù)度過了25歲生日。隨著更多設(shè)備與“物聯(lián)網(wǎng)”相連（根據(jù)科技公司思科（Cisco）的估計，到2020年，聯(lián)入物聯(lián)網(wǎng)的設(shè)備將達到500億臺），WiFi的未來取決于降低其在聯(lián)網(wǎng)設(shè)備上消耗的電量。

One innovation, invented by students at the University of Washington in Seattle, is known as “passive WiFi” which its inventors say consumes 10,000 times less power.It is currently slower than regular home broadband, but would work well for applications such as smart thermostats or lightbulbs.The WiFi community is also looking to develop higher-frequency bands that would be used over a limited range, such as in a house or car.

位于西雅圖的華盛頓大學（University of Washington）的學生發(fā)明了一種創(chuàng)新技術(shù)，名為“被動WiFi”。發(fā)明人稱，耗電量僅為以前的萬分之一。目前速率低于一般的家庭寬帶，但應用于恒溫器或燈泡等設(shè)備效果很好。WiFi界還計劃開發(fā)更高的頻段，用于覆蓋有限的范圍，例如家中或車里。

Ultimately, WiFi itself could be replaced by a new superfast alternative called Li-Fi, which uses light to beam information through the air, instead of radio waves.Lightbulbs would act as routers for this technology.A pilot study earlier this year found that a Li-Fi prototype could send data 100 times faster than WiFi, allowing dozens of movies to be downloaded in minutes.

最終，WiFi可能會被另一種新的超高速連接技術(shù)Li-Fi取代，這種技術(shù)利用光通過空氣（而非無線電波）傳輸信息。燈泡將作為這項技術(shù)的路由器。今年早些時候的一項試驗研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，Li-Fi樣機的數(shù)據(jù)傳輸速度是WiFi的100倍，幾十部電影可以在幾分鐘之內(nèi)下載完畢。

據(jù)Digital Trends網(wǎng)站報道，LiFi未來將被應用在手機中。愛丁堡PureLiFi研究機構(gòu)目前生產(chǎn)的LiFi-X適配器尺寸只適用于筆記本電腦，對于平板電腦來說也太大。但研究正在開展，他們已經(jīng)與多家智能手機、平板電腦和筆記本廠商商談了合作事宜。

Smart appliances

智能家電

讓你過上美國大片里的智能生活

Almost two-thirds of the human population is connected to the internet via smartphones, but these devices are not the only portal to the web.In 2016 there were 6.4bn connected things—excluding PCs, phones and tablets—in use worldwide, up 30 per cent from the previous year, according to technology analyst Gartner.The internet of things, as it is known, is this universe of objects—everything from cars to printers, lightbulbs to thermostats—that are no longer “dumb”, static things：they can learn your habits and be controlled remotely using an app.

全球近三分之二的人口通過智能手機連接互聯(lián)網(wǎng)，但智能手機并非唯一的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)接入門戶。技術(shù)分析機構(gòu)高德納（Gartner）的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，2016年，全球有64億個使用中的聯(lián)網(wǎng)設(shè)備（不包括個人電腦、手機和筆記本電腦），較上一年高出30%。物聯(lián)網(wǎng)正是這些聯(lián)網(wǎng)設(shè)備的集合，從汽車到打印機、燈泡到恒溫器，它們不再是“愚笨”、靜止的物體：它們可以學習你的習慣并通過應用遠程控制。

The stereotypical smart appliance is the self-stocking refrigerator that replenishes your milk automatically.This innovation will replace a lot more than the sniff test.Cars are now computers, running more lines of code than the Apollo 11 spaceship on its way to the moon.As these computers become more intelligent, cars will drive themselves, potentially reducing traffic-related fatalities.Smart sensors can also transform industry, for instance by monitoring goods during transport, helping utility companies to measure energy usage and logistics companies to track vehicles over long distances.

典型的智能家電是可以自動備貨的冰箱，能夠自動補充牛奶。這種創(chuàng)新帶來的方便遠不止是不再需要靠嗅覺來判定食品是否變質(zhì)。汽車現(xiàn)在變成了電腦，運行的代碼行數(shù)比阿波羅11號（Apollo 11）宇宙飛船飛往月球時還要多。隨著這些電腦變得更為智能，汽車將實現(xiàn)自動駕駛，可能會減少交通事故導致的死亡。智能傳感器還能徹底改造業(yè)態(tài)，例如，通過監(jiān)測運輸過程中的商品，幫助公用事業(yè)企業(yè)衡量能耗以及幫助物流公司遠程追蹤車輛。

中國的智能家電市場在近兩年發(fā)展迅速，今年3月9日，中國家電及消費電子博覽會剛在上海舉辦，在同一天召開的第七屆“中國家電發(fā)展高峰論壇”上，中國首個智能家電互聯(lián)互通團體標準正式發(fā)布，為行業(yè)的發(fā)展制定規(guī)則并提供保障。

詞匯總結(jié)

plummet['pl?m?t]

v.暴跌；速降

This plummeting cost, along with the shortened timescales for sequencing DNA, has led to a revolution in biotechnology：gene hacking, or the ability to turn genes on and off, and to manipulate biology to our advantage.

價格下跌再加上DNA測序所需時間縮短，帶來了生物技術(shù)領(lǐng)域的革命：基因黑客技術(shù)，能夠開啟和關(guān)閉基因、操縱生物學讓其為我們所用。

arduous['ɑ?dj??s]

adj.艱苦的；艱難的

Until recently, swapping the code was an arduous process.

直到不久前，DNA編碼交換曾是一個困難的過程。

embed in 把…牢牢地嵌入（或插入、埋入）

Artificial intelligence is not science fiction：it is already embedded in products we use every day.

人工智能并非科幻小說：它已經(jīng)嵌入到我們每天使用的產(chǎn)品中。

deluge of 涌現(xiàn)的事物；蜂擁而至的事物

This decades-old science is enjoying a renaissance today because of the deluge of data created by smartphones and sensors, and the supercomputing power that is available to crunch that data.

這門擁有幾十年歷史的科學如今正經(jīng)歷復興，因為智能手機和傳感器創(chuàng)造了大量數(shù)據(jù)，并且如今我們有了能夠處理這些數(shù)據(jù)的超級運算能力。

ratify['r?t?fa?]

v.正式批準；使正式生效

World leaders last year ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change.

世界各國領(lǐng)導人去年批準了《巴黎氣候協(xié)議》（Paris Agreement）。

tap[t?p]

v.利用,開發(fā),發(fā)掘（已有的資源、知識等）

In energy, researchers are trying to build a nuclear fusion reactor that would tap the same process that causes the sun to give off light and heat to create a source of clean energy.

在能源領(lǐng)域，研究人員正試圖建造一個核聚變反應堆，利用與太陽發(fā)光發(fā)熱原理相同的過程，創(chuàng)造出一個清潔能源來源。