这五大科技，将改变人类未来

《美丽新世界》的野蛮人说：“我不需要舒服。我需要上帝，需要诗，需要真正的危险，需要自由，需要善，需要罪恶。”

然而，在反乌托邦的小说之外，有没有这样一种可能，在保留思想自由的同时享受科技带来的美好生活？

在未来，对于人类来说，“生老病死”或许不再是自然铁律；机器或许比朋友更熟悉你的喜好；而天空常蓝，PM2.5不再是一个众人皆知的概念；没人抱怨网络太慢，你可以在几分钟之内下载几十部电影；智能家居也不再停留于科幻电影，叫一声AI，它会随时为你服务。

Biotech

生物科技

利用分子“剪刀”，癌症或许不再是绝症

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.

自本世纪初以来，人类基因测序（确定DNA分子内部核苷酸的确切排序，这一排序决定了我们是谁）的价格已大幅下跌。2001年基因测序的价格高达1亿美元，如今仅为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.

价格下跌再加上DNA测序所需时间缩短，带来了生物技术领域的革命：基因黑客技术，能够开启和关闭基因、操纵生物学让其为我们所用。

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.

这种新技术的最激进分支是“基因编辑”：利用分子“剪刀”剪切和粘贴我们的DNA编码的过程，其用途很多，包括治愈癌症和艾滋病等疾病。直到不久前，DNA编码交换曾是一个困难的过程。名为Crispr的新的基因剪切与粘贴工具让这个过程变得意外地简单。

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用来创造抗病的小麦和大米品种、改变酵母菌以制造生物燃料并治疗动物失明。最终，它或许可用于消除人类胚胎中的缺陷。

生物科技一直是个充满争议的话题，尤其在“转基因”食物是否安全的问题上。

据人民网报道，在前不久的人大五次会议记者会上，农业部副部长张桃林说，“转基因技术的安全性是可控的，世界卫生组织、欧盟委员会、国际科学理事会等众多国际权威机构对转基因安全性进行了长期跟踪、评估、监测，结果都表明，经过安全评价获得政府批准的转基因产品与非转基因产品一样安全”。

但我国目前未批准任何一种转基因粮食作物商业化种植。

Artificial intelligence

人工智能

下一步，AI会像儿童一样通过试错习得技能

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说：它已经嵌入到我们每天使用的产品中。苹果（Apple）的Siri助理、亚马逊（Amazon）的图书推荐、Facebook的新闻推送以及Spotify的音乐发现列表都是由机器学习算法驱动的服务的例子。

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.

这门拥有几十年历史的科学如今正经历复兴，因为智能手机和传感器创造了大量数据，并且如今我们有了能够处理这些数据的超级运算能力。根据科技研究机构Tractica的数据，人工智能市场的规模将从2016年的6.437亿美元扩大到2025年的368亿美元。

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.

据说，深度学习和神经网络等技术会模仿人脑：它们会识别大量数据集中各种大的模式，以实现对图片的归类、识别声音和做出决定。

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：这种算法不需要被教授具体技能（例如下棋或一门新的语言），而是会通过试错法来习得技能，就像儿童所做的那样。总部位于伦敦的DeepMind（由谷歌（Google）所有）等公司以及其他公司正致力于让这变为现实。

2016年3月15日下午，韩国棋手李世石在与人工智能程序Alpha Go的对决中落败。据财新报道，中国科学院副院长谭铁牛在2016年中国人工智能大会上表示人工智能热潮下尤其需要冷思考：

“Alpha Go在围棋上的表现确实提高了人们对人工智能的期望。但是，希望太高，如果没有实现，人们会非常的失望，甚至绝望。深度学习目前还存在明显局限性，尤其是在任务切换和对小样本的举一反三方面，人工智能与人类还是相差甚远。”

Renewable energy

可再生能源

想与雾霾永别？清洁能源帮你实现

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

世界各国领导人去年批准了《巴黎气候协议》（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.

该协议旨在阻止全球平均气温较工业时代以前的水平升高2摄氏度以上，并试图将升温幅度控制在1.5摄氏度以下。兑现这一承诺将需要在未来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.

在能源领域，研究人员正试图建造一个核聚变反应堆，利用与太阳发光发热原理相同的过程，创造出一个清洁能源来源。一项政府间合作计划正在法国建造一个190亿美元的核聚变反应堆ITER。其他创新计划包括：人工光合作用，在实验室中制造碳氢化合物为汽车提供动力；高海拔风电厂，把风筝和热气球作为空中风力涡轮。

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.

冰岛正在投资发展地热技术，通过钻探开采地下热能。30年前，该国开始利用地热资源为城镇供暖。如今，整个国家的电力和供暖系统几乎全部依靠可再生能源，包括地热和水电。

比尔盖茨公众号在3月15日发文《阳光变燃料？我们能比大自然做的更好！》。

他所探访的加州理工学院的内特实验室正在研究如何能利用太阳的巨大能量来制造燃料，从而为汽车、卡车、轮船和飞机提供动力。

文中介绍，内特团队正在研究一种由塑料“细胞”组成的人造草皮，这种草皮可以很容易被铺开来吸收阳光、制造燃料。

Connectivity

网络接入技术

比WiFi速度更快的LiFi，听说了吗？

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是现代儿童眼中理所当然的家庭标配，去年9月，这项技术度过了25岁生日。随着更多设备与“物联网”相连（根据科技公司思科（Cisco）的估计，到2020年，联入物联网的设备将达到500亿台），WiFi的未来取决于降低其在联网设备上消耗的电量。

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.

位于西雅图的华盛顿大学（University of Washington）的学生发明了一种创新技术，名为“被动WiFi”。发明人称，耗电量仅为以前的万分之一。目前速率低于一般的家庭宽带，但应用于恒温器或灯泡等设备效果很好。WiFi界还计划开发更高的频段，用于覆盖有限的范围，例如家中或车里。

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.

最终，WiFi可能会被另一种新的超高速连接技术Li-Fi取代，这种技术利用光通过空气（而非无线电波）传输信息。灯泡将作为这项技术的路由器。今年早些时候的一项试验研究发现，Li-Fi样机的数据传输速度是WiFi的100倍，几十部电影可以在几分钟之内下载完毕。

据Digital Trends网站报道，LiFi未来将被应用在手机中。爱丁堡PureLiFi研究机构目前生产的LiFi-X适配器尺寸只适用于笔记本电脑，对于平板电脑来说也太大。但研究正在开展，他们已经与多家智能手机、平板电脑和笔记本厂商商谈了合作事宜。

Smart appliances

智能家电

让你过上美国大片里的智能生活

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过智能手机连接互联网，但智能手机并非唯一的互联网接入门户。技术分析机构高德纳（Gartner）的数据显示，2016年，全球有64亿个使用中的联网设备（不包括个人电脑、手机和笔记本电脑），较上一年高出30%。物联网正是这些联网设备的集合，从汽车到打印机、灯泡到恒温器，它们不再是“愚笨”、静止的物体：它们可以学习你的习惯并通过应用远程控制。

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.

典型的智能家电是可以自动备货的冰箱，能够自动补充牛奶。这种创新带来的方便远不止是不再需要靠嗅觉来判定食品是否变质。汽车现在变成了电脑，运行的代码行数比阿波罗11号（Apollo 11）宇宙飞船飞往月球时还要多。随着这些电脑变得更为智能，汽车将实现自动驾驶，可能会减少交通事故导致的死亡。智能传感器还能彻底改造业态，例如，通过监测运输过程中的商品，帮助公用事业企业衡量能耗以及帮助物流公司远程追踪车辆。

中国的智能家电市场在近两年发展迅速，今年3月9日，中国家电及消费电子博览会刚在上海举办，在同一天召开的第七届“中国家电发展高峰论坛”上，中国首个智能家电互联互通团体标准正式发布，为行业的发展制定规则并提供保障。

词汇总结

plummet['plʌmɪt]

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.

价格下跌再加上DNA测序所需时间缩短，带来了生物技术领域的革命：基因黑客技术，能够开启和关闭基因、操纵生物学让其为我们所用。

arduous['ɑːdjʊəs]

adj.艰苦的；艰难的

Until recently, swapping the code was an arduous process.

直到不久前，DNA编码交换曾是一个困难的过程。

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说：它已经嵌入到我们每天使用的产品中。

deluge of 涌现的事物；蜂拥而至的事物

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.

这门拥有几十年历史的科学如今正经历复兴，因为智能手机和传感器创造了大量数据，并且如今我们有了能够处理这些数据的超级运算能力。

ratify['rætɪfaɪ]

v.正式批准；使正式生效

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

世界各国领导人去年批准了《巴黎气候协议》（Paris Agreement）。

tap[tæp]

v.利用,开发,发掘（已有的资源、知识等）

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.

在能源领域，研究人员正试图建造一个核聚变反应堆，利用与太阳发光发热原理相同的过程，创造出一个清洁能源来源。