A.I. in the Sky? Space Is Seen As a Data Site. AI資料中心的太空想像


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2026/02/27 第578期 訂閱/退訂看歷史報份
 
 
紐時周報精選 A.I. in the Sky? Space Is Seen As a Data Site. AI資料中心的太空想像
Billions at Stake as Trump Throttles Offshore Wind Farms 川普全面喊停東岸離岸風電
紐時周報精選
 
A.I. in the Sky? Space Is Seen As a Data Site. AI資料中心的太空想像
文/Eli Tan and Ryan Mac
譯/國際中心

AI資料中心的太空想像

If the architects of the artificial intelligence boom are right, it is only a matter of time before data centers — the giant computing facilities that power AI — will float in orbit and be visible in the night sky like planets.

如果人工智慧熱潮的主導者判斷正確,為AI提供運算動力的資料中心將會漂浮在地球軌道上,甚至像行星一樣在夜空中清晰可見,只是遲早的問題。

The science-fiction-like dream is being driven by AI and space industry leaders who are growing increasingly worried that data centers will eventually require more energy and land than are available on Earth. So one solution — perhaps the only solution, they say — is to start building them in space.

這個宛如科幻小說的構想,背後推手是人工智慧與太空產業的領袖人物。他們愈來愈擔心,資料中心最終對能源與土地的需求,將超過地球所能承受的上限。因此,在他們看來,解方之一,甚至可能是唯一的解方:開始把資料中心搬到太空。

Google announced in November that it was working on Project Suncatcher, a space data center project that would begin test launches in 2027. Elon Musk said at a recent conference that space data centers would be the cheapest way to train AI "not more than five years from now." Others pledging support for the idea include Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin; Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI; and Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia.

Google去年11月宣布,正投入名為「追日計畫」的太空資料中心計畫,預計2027年測試發射。馬斯克近期在一場會議上表示,太空資料中心將在「不超過5年內」成為訓練AI成本最低的方式。公開表態支持這項構想的,還包括亞馬遜與藍色起源創辦人貝佐斯、OpenAI執行長奧特曼,以及輝達執行長黃仁勳。

"It is not a debate — it is going to happen," said Philip Johnston, the CEO of Starcloud, a space data center startup. "The question is when."

太空資料中心新創公司Starcloud執行長強斯頓直言:「這不是爭論會不會發生的問題,因為一定會發生。真正的問題,是什麼時候會發生。」

The notion has gained traction as the AI race hits a fever pitch, fueling fears of a potential bubble. Meta, OpenAI, Microsoft, Amazon and other big tech companies are investing hundreds of billions in data centers worldwide, with OpenAI alone committing $1.4 trillion to such projects. Saudi Arabia and other nations are also pouring money into these efforts, while smaller companies pile up debt and take on financial risks to join the frenzy.

隨著AI競賽愈演愈烈,太空資料中心的概念逐漸獲得關注,也同步引發市場對泡沫風險的憂慮。Meta、OpenAI、微軟、亞馬遜等大型科技公司,正在全球投入數以千億美元計的資金興建資料中心,其中僅OpenAI承諾投入的金額就高達1.4兆美元。沙烏地阿拉伯等國家也大舉注資,而規模較小的公司則透過舉債、承擔高度財務風險,試圖參與這波投資熱潮。

Yet earthbound data centers are increasingly running into limits. In many places, the projects lack enough available power for the computing needs. Local opposition has also flared over whether data centers are driving up utility bills and exacerbating water shortages.

然而,地球上的資料中心愈來愈頻繁地碰到現實限制。許多地區的電力供應已無法滿足龐大運算需求;所在地的反對聲浪也愈來愈高,質疑資料中心是否推升電費,並加劇用水短缺的問題。

That has led to more creative — some might say wishful — thinking with space data centers. Technologists and scientists have researched the idea and concluded that some version of these projects may be possible in the next few decades. But skeptics said the proposals flew in the face of physics and would be astronomically expensive.

正因如此,太空資料中心成為更具創意、有人也許會說,一廂情願的解決方案。科技人員與科學家研究後認為,數十年後,某種形式的太空資料中心或許會出現;但懷疑者指出,這類構想不僅挑戰物理極限,成本更可能高到難以想像。

 
Billions at Stake as Trump Throttles Offshore Wind Farms 川普全面喊停東岸離岸風電
文/Maxine Joselow and Brad Plum
譯/羅方妤

川普全面喊停東岸離岸風電

It was three days before Christmas, and Patrick Crowley, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, was getting ready for a party when he got a shocking text that the Trump administration had halted construction on a nearly completed $6.2 billion wind farm off Rhode Island that employed hundreds of his members.

耶誕節前3天,美國勞工總聯盟暨產業組織大會羅德島州分會主席克勞利正準備參加派對,卻接到令他震驚的簡訊。內容是川普政府下令停止建造接近竣工、價值62億美元的羅德島離岸風力發電廠,而這個設施雇用了他數百名成員。

The same thing had happened in August, stunning leaders in Connecticut and Rhode Island, where the wind farm was expected to power more than 350,000 homes and businesses. But the two states and Orsted, the Danish energy giant behind the project, Revolution Wind, had sued, and in September a federal judge had allowed construction to resume.

類似情況去年8月就曾發生,當時讓康乃狄克州與羅德島州政府措手不及。該風場原本預計可為超過35萬戶家庭與企業供電。不過,這兩州和「風力革命」專案幕後的丹麥能源公司「沃旭能源」已提起訴訟,聯邦法官去年9月已允許恢復建設。

Businesses around the world have been roiled by President Donald Trump's sudden policy shifts. But few have had it worse than offshore wind companies.

全球企業近來頻受川普政策急轉彎衝擊,而離岸風電產業首當其衝。

In its abrupt Dec. 22 announcement, the Trump administration halted work on all five wind farms under construction off the East Coast. They are collectively worth $25 billion and were expected to power more than 2.5 million buildings and create around 10,000 jobs.

川普政府去年12月22日突然宣布,全面停止東岸5座正在施工的離岸風場,總投資額高達250億美元,預期可供電給250萬棟建築,並創造約1萬個工作機會。

The Biden administration had awarded the permits, allowing the developers to secure financing, sign contracts to sell the electricity to states and utilities, hire workers and lease equipment. Revolution Wind, Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind off New York, Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind would join two smaller operating offshore wind farms in U.S. coastal waters.

拜登政府已核發許可證,並允許開發商取得融資、與各州和公用事業簽下售電合約、雇用員工並租賃設備。紐約州近海的風力革命、風力帝國和風力黎明發電廠、麻州近海風力葡萄園,及維吉尼亞州海岸離岸風力發電廠,將與目前已在美國沿岸水域運行的較小離岸風力發電廠共同運作。

But as it did in August, the Trump administration said last month that the projects posed undisclosed risks to national security, even though the federal judge had rejected a similar claim.

但正如去年8月發生的事,即使聯邦法官已駁斥類似說法,川普政府上月表示,這些專案有國安疑慮。

Developers of four of the five wind farms, along with the states of Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island, are suing to try to restart construction. Court hearings start Monday.

5個風力發電廠中4個的開發商,及康乃狄克州、紐約州和羅德島州正提起訴訟,試圖恢復建設。法庭聽證會將於周一開始。

Any delays in these projects could cause them to unravel. At Revolution Wind, Orsted is using a ship called the Wind Scylla to install steel turbines. The ship is only under contract until Feb. 22.

這些專案發生任何延誤都可能導致失敗。在風力革命專案,沃旭能源正使用名為「斯庫拉之風」的船安裝鋼製渦輪機。但這艘船的合約2月22日到期。

Equinor, the developer of the $5 billion Empire Wind off Long Island, said that if it could not resume work by Jan. 16, it would likely have to cancel the $5 billion project because the vessel needed to lift the substation onto its foundations has to leave this month and would not become available for at least another year.

挪威能源公司Equinor指,若位於紐約長島外海、耗資50億美元的「帝國風場」工程無法在1月16日前恢復,該計畫恐將被迫取消。原因是負責將變電站吊裝至基座的專用船隻必須在本月離開,且至少1年內都無法再度投入使用。

 
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