artificial intelligence：Upping the X ante 人工智能：提高X级的赌注Elon Musk's model-builder takes on OpenAl 埃隆·马斯克的模特设计师寻衅了OpenAl【1】Every day seems to bring fresh bets on artificial intelligence (AI). In the past few weeks CoreWeave, an AI cloud-computing company, and H, a French AI startup, have raised hefty sums of money. On May 26th it was Elon Musk’s turn. The tech billionaire’s startup, christened xAI, said it had raised bn at a valuation of bn. The investors include such Silicon Valley stalwarts as Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, two venture-capital (VC) giants, and an investment fund with ties to the Saudi royal family. Their lavish backing puts xAI’s financial firepower in the big leagues, alongside model-builders such as OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, and Anthropic. Can Mr Musk compete with the AI superstars? 彷佛每天都在给人工智能（AI）带来新的押注。
过去几周，人工智能云打算公司CoreWeave和法国人工智能初创公司H已经筹集了巨额资金。
5月26日，该轮到埃隆·马斯克了。
这位科技界亿万财主旗下的初创公司xAI表示，它已融资60亿美元，估值为240亿美元。
这些投资者包括红杉成本和安德森·霍洛维茨等硅谷的中坚分子，这两家风险投资（VC）巨子，以及一只与沙特王室有联系的投资基金。
他们年夜方的支持使xAI的财务实力进入了大同盟，以及ChatGPT的创造者OpenAI和人类学公司。
马斯克能与人工智能超级明星竞争吗？

【2】This is not his first foray into AI. Mr Musk co-founded OpenAI, then left after falling out with Sam Altman, its boss. In April he told investors that Tesla, his electric-vehicle maker, should be viewed as an AI firm. Never one for modest ambitions, Mr Musk wants his latest venture, which he launched last July, to “advance our collective understanding of the universe”.Panda Foreign Magazine Intensive Reading:Respect for Originality, Piracy Must Be Punished 这不是他第一次涉足人工智能。
马斯克是OpenAI的联合创始人，在与老板山姆·奥特曼闹翻后离开。
今年4月，他见告投资者，他的电动汽车制造商特斯拉该当被视为一家人工智能公司。
马斯克从来没有适度的野心，他希望去年7月推出的最新项目能“推进我们对宇宙的集体理解”。
熊猫外国杂志重读：尊重创意，盗版必须予以惩罚

【3】That is tech-speak for building large AI systems that are as good as humans at many intellectual tasks, or better. In this pursuit, xAI has many of the necessary strengths. Through Mr Musk’s purchase in 2022 of Twitter, a social-media site now called X, it enjoys access to reams of human-generated data. That is ideal for teaching an AI system how to interact with people. Footage from Tesla cars, which are equipped with plenty of cameras, could in time feed xAI’s models, too. Through an arrangement with Oracle, a business-software and cloud-computing behemoth, xAI is renting specialist AI servers with the chips that machine-learning algorithms need to crunch the data. 这是一种构建大型人工智能系统，乃至更好。
在这一追求中，xAI有许多必要的上风。
通过马斯克在2022年收购了一个现在名为X的社交媒体网站推特，它可以得到大量的人工天生数据。
这是教授人工智能系统如何与人互动的空想方法。
配备了大量摄像头的特斯拉汽车的镜头也可以及时供应xAI的车型。
通过与商业软件和云打算巨子甲骨文的协议，xAI正在租用专业人工智能做事器，供应机器学习算法处理所需的数据。

【4】Mr Musk is also a magnet for talent: xAI has poached boffins from Google and Microsoft. Founders of other startups have complained that xAI prices them out of the market by offering astonishingly generous pay packages. It might also benefit from talent from elsewhere in Mr Musk’s empire. When he bought Twitter, he reportedly called in some 50 software engineers from Tesla to help with tasks such as code reviews. A handful of Tesla engineers have recently been hired by xAI. 马斯克也吸引了人才： xAI从谷歌和微软挖走了一些人才。
其他初创公司的创始人抱怨说，xAI通过供应惊人的年夜方薪酬将它们赶出市场。
它也可能受益于马斯克帝国其他地方的人才。
据宣布，当他购买推特时，他打电话给了特斯拉的大约50名软件工程师，帮助他完成代码评论等任务。
最近，xAI雇佣了一些特斯拉工程师。

【5】All that has helped xAI “develop high-performing models from a standing start”, notes Nathan Benaich of Air Street Capital, a VC firm. In November xAI released Grok, its answer to ChatGPT, which it sells to X users on a subscription basis. An update followed in the spring along with a preview of another version of Grok that can interpret images. 风投公司航空街成本的内森·贝奈奇指出，所有这些都帮助xAI“从一开始就开拓出高性能的模型”。
11月，xAI发布了对ChatGPT的答案Grok，以订阅办法出售给X用户。
随后在春季进行了更新，以及另一个可以阐明图像的另一个Grok版本。

【6】Mr Musk wants to go further. He has said that he needs 100,000 AI chips to build the next version of Grok. According to the Information, a tech-news outfit, he told xAI investors that he wants to construct an enormous supercomputer that will come online in late 2025. This “gigafactory of compute” would rival a similarly ambitious project being discussed by OpenAI and its big-tech partner, Microsoft. 马斯克师长西席想要更进一步。
他说，他须要10万个人工智能芯片来制造下一个版本的Grok。
据科技新闻机构“信息组织”称，他见告xAI的投资者，他希望建造一台巨大的超级打算机，将于2025年底上线。
这个“超级打算工厂”将与OpenAI及其大型技能互助伙伴微软正在谈论的一个同样年夜志勃勃的项目相竞争。

【7】There are, as ever with the mercurial Mr Musk, plenty of risks. One is his increasingly packed schedule. Along with Tesla, xAI and X (where he is not the CEO but does hold the post of executive chairman), he also runs SpaceX, a rocketry business, Neuralink, a brain-implant firm, and the Boring Company, which builds tunnels. If that didn’t keep him busy enough, he is involved in numerous legal battles, including one to reinstate a $56bn pay package from Tesla that was struck down by a judge in Delaware, and another to move Tesla from that state to Texas. 和以往一样，反复无常的马斯克也有很多风险。
个中一个是他的日程安排越来越拥挤。
除了特斯拉、xAI和X（他不是首席实行官，但确实担当实行董事长），他还经营着火箭式公司SpaceX、大脑植入公司神经链接公司，以及建造隧道的无聊公司。
如果这不能让他不足忙，他会卷入许多法律轇轕，包括一场是规复特斯拉560亿美元的薪酬，但被特拉华州的一名法官驳回，另一场是将特斯拉从该州搬到德克萨斯州。

【8】A bigger problem is competition, which is white-hot in model-making. Startups are up against the titans of tech—including Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta—which are building their own AIs. Many less titanic but still large companies, such as Adobe and Salesforce, are getting in on the AI action, too. Switching between rival models tends to be easy for users, and xAI’s Grok lacks distinctive selling points. 一个更大的问题是竞争，这在模型制造方面很白热化。
初创公司正在对抗科技巨子——包括字母表、亚马逊、微软和元技能巨子——这些科技巨子正在建立自己的人工智能。
许多不那么强大但仍旧很大的公司，如Adobe和发负责，也在了人工智能的行动。
对付用户来说，在竞争对手之间切换每每很随意马虎，而xAI的Grok缺少独特的卖点。

【9】OpenAI in particular still has more money and better access to processing power than its rivals, including this latest one. That may force xAI to follow the lead of other startups and develop models that are smaller (and cheaper) than OpenAI’s, but not quite as powerful, Mr Benaich suggests. Not quite the cosmic understanding that Mr Musk seeks.

特殊是OpenAI，它仍旧比竞争对手拥有更多的资金和更好的处理能力，包括最新的一次。
贝纳奇表示，这可能会迫使xAI效仿其他初创公司的做法，开拓出比OpenAI更小（也更便宜），但没有那么强大的机型。
这并不是马斯克所寻求的宇宙理解。

①短语：

1.原文：Artificial intelligence：Upping the X ante

词典：raise/up the ante提高哀求；增加金额

例句：For the next buy, the team decided to up the ante.

在接下来的购买中，团队决定提高赌注。

2.原文：Elon Musk's model-builder takes on OpenAl

词典：take sth↔on呈现，具有（特色、外不雅观等）

例句：The chameleon can take on the colours of its background.

变色龙可以变成周围环境的颜色。

His voice took on a more serious tone.

他说话的语气变得严明起来。

3.原文：This is not his first foray into AI.

词典：foray into sth 1.（改变职业、活动的）考试测验 2.突袭；闪电式打击 3.短途（寻物）；短暂访问（新地方）

例句：Emporio Armani, the Italian fashion house, has made a discreet foray into furnishings.

意大利时装品牌安普里奥·阿玛尼谨慎进入家居用品市场。

Most guests make at least one foray into the town...

多数客人至少去过一次城里。

These base camps were used by the PKK guerrillas to make forays into Turkey.

这些基地演习营被库尔德工人党游击队用于对土耳实在行突袭行动。

4.原文：Mr Musk co-founded OpenAI, then left after falling out with Sam Altman, its boss.

词典：fall out (with sb)（与某人）吵翻，闹翻

例句：I fall out with a lot of photographers over this.

就这一点，我和许多拍照家都闹翻了。

5.原文：it enjoys access to reams of human-generated data.

词典：reams of sth 大量，许多

例句：Their specific task is to sort through the reams of information and try to determine what it may mean.

他们的详细任务便是将大量信息分类并努力弄清它们的意思。

6.原文：That is ideal for teaching an AI system how to interact with people.

词典：interact with sb 1.互换；沟通；互助 2.相互影响；相互浸染

例句：Teachers have a limited amount of time to interact with each child.

西席和每个孩子沟通的韶光有限。

Perfume interacts with the skin's natural chemicals.

喷鼻香水和皮肤的天然化学物质相互浸染。

7.原文：Footage from Tesla cars, which are equipped with plenty of cameras, could in time feed xAI’s models, too.

词典：equip yourself/sb/sth (with sth) (for sth) 1. 配备；装备 2.使有所准备；使有能力

例句：The course is designed to equip students for a career in nursing.

此课程旨在使学生能够胜任照顾护士事情。

He equipped himself with a street plan.

他随身带着一张街道平面图。

The centre is well equipped for canoeing and mountaineering.

本中央有完好的划船和登山设备。

8.原文：Footage from Tesla cars, which are equipped with plenty of cameras, could in time feed xAI’s models, too.

词典：in time经由一段韶光之后；迟早；末了；终于

in time (for sth/to do sth)来得及；及时

例句：Will we be in time for the six o'clock train?

我们来得及遇上六点钟的那趟火车吗？

They learned to accept their stepmother in time.

过了一段韶光之后他们学会了接管他们的继母。

9.原文：Mr Musk is also a magnet for talent:

词典：magnet (for sb/sth) 有吸引力的人（或地方、事物）

例句：In the 1990s the area became a magnet for new investment.

这个地区在20世纪90年代成了新的投资热点。

Prospect Park, with its vast lake, is a magnet for all health freaks.

拥有一大片湖区的普罗斯佩克特公园吸引着所有看重康健的人。

10.原文：When he bought Twitter, he reportedly called in some 50 software engineers from Tesla to help with tasks such as code reviews.

词典：call sb↔in召来，叫来（做事） call sth↔in敕令收回；哀求退回

例句：Cars with serious faults have been called in by the manufacturers.

有严重毛病的汽车已被制造商召回。

11.原文：In November xAI released Grok, its answer to ChatGPT, which it sells to X users on a subscription basis.

词典：answer to sb/sth 足以媲美的人；堪称相称的事物

例句：The new theme park will be Britain's answer to Disneyland.

英国新的主题乐园可与迪斯尼乐园媲美。

Cachaca is Brazil's answer to tequila.

巴西甜酒相称于是巴西的龙舌兰酒。

12.原文：Mr Musk wants to go further.

词典：go further 1.进一步说；提出更极度的见地 2.更耐久；为更多人做事

例句：I would go even further and suggest that the entire school is corrupt.

我乃至进而想要说，全体学校都是腐败的。

They watered down the soup to make it go further.

他们在汤里掺水，好让更多的人喝。

13.原文：including one to reinstate a $56bn pay package from Tesla that was struck down by a judge in Delaware,

词典：strike sb down摧垮;使病倒;使丧命 strike sth↔down破除，撤消，闭幕(造孽的法律或规定)

例句：He was struck down by cancer at the age of thirty.

他三十岁那年被癌症夺去了性命。

The Supreme Court today struck down a law that prevents criminals from profiting from books or movies about their crimes.

最高法院本日破除了一项关于禁止罪犯把其罪过写成书或拍成电影而从中牟利的法律。

14.原文：Startups are up against the titans of tech—including Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta

词典：be up against sth 面临，遇上

例句：Teachers are up against some major problems these days.

老师们最近面临着一些重大问题。

The government is running up against considerable opposition to its tax reforms.

政府的税务改革碰着了相称大的阻力。

15.原文：Many less titanic but still large companies, such as Adobe and Salesforce, are getting in on the AI action, too.

词典：get in on sth参加（活动）

例句：He's hoping to get in on any discussions about the new project.

他愿望着参加有关新操持的任何谈论。

②长难句

1.原文：Through an arrangement with Oracle, a business-software and cloud-computing behemoth, xAI is renting specialist AI servers with the chips that machine-learning algorithms need to crunch the data.

2.剖析：主句是主谓宾构造xAI（主语）is renting（谓语动词）specialist AI servers（宾语）；with the chips是宾语补足语，that勾引后置定语润色the chips；to crunch the data.是不定式表目的。
Through an arrangement with Oracle是办法状语，a business-software and cloud-computing behemoth作同位语，润色Oracle，用来详细阐明Oracle是什么。

3.译文：通过和商业软件与云打算巨子甲骨文公司（Oracle）达成的安排，xAI租用配置有专业化AI做事器，其芯片是机器学习算法所需，可以处理弘大的数据量。

1.原文：If that didn’t keep him busy enough, he is involved in numerous legal battles, including one to reinstate a $56bn pay package from Tesla that was struck down by a judge in Delaware, and another to move Tesla from that state to Texas.

2.剖析：主句是主系表构造he（主语）is（系动词）involved in numerous legal battles（表语）；If勾引条件状语。
including one to...and another to...为介词短语；两个to都是动词不定式表目的，解释两个官司的详细内容；that勾引后置定语，润色one。

3.译文：若这些都没能让异日不暇给，马斯克亦卷入了数起官司，包括一项试图规复特斯拉被特拉华州法官推翻的560亿美元薪酬方案的诉讼，以及另一项将特斯拉从特拉华州迁至德克萨斯州的诉讼。

③写作技巧:

Their lavish backing puts xAI’s financial firepower in the big leagues,

他们的年夜方支持使得xAI在财务实力上跻身一线

表达：league的本义是“同盟；联赛”，也可以用来表示“（质量、能力等的）等级，级别，水平”。
写作时要表示某物处于某种水平时，可以利用in a league of sth或者in a ... league。

例句：As a painter, he is in a league of his own.

作为画家，他独领风骚。

When it comes to cooking, I'm not in her league.

提到烹饪，我的水平远比不上她。

Her success has taken her out of my league.

她的成绩令我望尘莫及。

④背景知识：

xAI：xAI是埃隆·马斯克成立的人工智能公司，于当地韶光2023年7月12日宣乐成立。
构建xAI的目标，是要专注于回答更深层次的科学问题，期望未来可以用AI去帮助人们去办理繁芜的科学和数学问题并且“理解”宇宙。
根据xAI官网，团队成员曾在DeepMind、OpenAI、谷歌研究院、微软研究院、特斯拉及多伦多大学供职，由现任人工智能安全中央主任丹·亨德里克斯担当顾问。
初创团队中有11位核心成员，由埃隆·马斯克领导。

⑤段落大意：

【1】xAI是埃隆·马斯克最新创立的人工智能公司

【2】埃隆·马斯克曾与他人互助建立OpenAI公司，但后来离开

【3】其他与马斯克有关联的企业能助力xAI发展

【4】马斯克也长于挖掘人才为其效力

【5】xAI发布了针对X用户的Grok

【6】马斯克想构建超级打算机

【7】马斯刻期理万机，充满变数

【8】创模行业里竞争激烈

【9】xAI或将采纳与OpenAI不同的路径，但无法达到马斯克的目标