Top Technology Stories of 2023

Top Technology Stories of 2023

2023年的顶级科技新闻

【听力音频】

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　　By Bryan Lynn

　　27 December 2023

　　The past year marked the rise of ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence (AI) tools. But here is a look back at some of the other noteworthy technology stories we covered in 2023.

　　Google, Apple face major legal challenges

　　Both Apple and Google faced lawsuits accusing them of carrying out unfair business methods linked to their app stores. The cases might cost the companies billions of dollars and change the way similar app stores do business.

　　A decision in the Google case was reached earlier this month when an American jury found Google's app store operates as an illegal monopoly. The case was brought by video game company Epic Games.

　　One of the main questions in the case was whether Google had the right to require app developers to use Google's app store's payment systems. The jury ruled Google's monopoly covered both its app selling system and payment processing within the app. Google condemned the decision and appealed the ruling.

　　Epic brought a similar lawsuit against iPhone maker Apple that was decided in April. In that case, a judge in California mostly sided with Apple. But the judge did order Apple to permit developers to add their own links to process payments within iPhone apps.

　　EV battery technology and production

　　The worldwide demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries continues to grow. But supplies of the materials used to make them are limited. Currently, China controls most mining and processing of a group of 17 metals known as rare earths.

　　One of the main materials used to produce the batteries is lithium, a light metal substance. Other necessary materials include the metallic elements cobalt, manganese and nickel. Even though some of the minerals are mined in nations outside China, Chinese companies still hold ownership over the operations.

　　In an effort to avoid a dependence on Chinese controlled materials, the United States and other countries are seeking to mine and process more materials at home.

　　In February, U.S. President Joe Biden announced federal assistance programs to help companies mine and process lithium and other rare metals. Similar efforts were announced in other countries, including Britain and Germany.

　　In addition, major automakers said they were seeking new EV engine designs that are less dependent on rare earth minerals. EV market leader Tesla said it plans to remove rare earths from its next-generation EVs. Other automakers said they are in the process of researching or developing EV motors that use little or no rare earth minerals. These include General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, and BMW.

　　Robotic developments

　　We covered several developments involving robotic systems.

　　A team of American researchers announced it had built a human-like robot that can play soccer at a high level. The robot, named ARTEMIS, is one of only a few humanoid robots that can run. It also can walk and jump on different kinds of surfaces without losing its balance. The robot also can kick a ball and remain standing even when kicked or hit, the team said.

　　In Germany, many companies – large and small – turned to robots to fill jobs as the country faced a severe labor shortage. The International Federation of Robotics estimated that about 26,000 robotic machines were put into use in Germany last year. Experts say increasing robotic operations are a sign that robots have become easier to use, with no special skills required.

　　However, the risks of using machines in the workplace were demonstrated in South Korea, where an industrial robot crushed a worker to death at a vegetable processing center. Police said the victim was an employee of a company that deploys industrial robots to businesses.

　　NASA even tested a snake-like explorer designed to search for signs of life in hard-to-reach places. The American space agency said the robot is equipped to move in ways that traditional explorer vehicles, called rovers, cannot. In the future, NASA plans to send the robot to space to search for signs of life in an underground ocean on Saturn's moon Enceladus.

　　I'm Bryan Lynn.

　　Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者：Bryan Lynn

　　2023年12月27日

　　过去的一年标志着ChatGPT和其他人工智能（AI）工具的崛起。但让我们回顾一下我们在2023年报道的其他一些值得注意的科技新闻。

　　谷歌、苹果面临重大法律挑战

　　苹果和谷歌都面临着诉讼，被指控在他们的应用商店中进行不公平的商业行为。这些案件可能会让这两家公司损失数十亿美元，并改变类似应用商店的商业方式。

　　本月早些时候，美国陪审团在谷歌案件中做出了决定，认为谷歌的应用商店运营为非法垄断。这个案件是由视频游戏公司Epic Games提起的。

　　案件中的一个主要问题是，谷歌是否有权要求应用开发者使用谷歌应用商店的支付系统。陪审团裁定，谷歌的垄断覆盖了其应用销售系统和应用内的支付处理。谷歌谴责了这个决定，并对这个裁决提出了上诉。

　　Epic对iPhone制造商苹果提起了类似的诉讼，该案件在4月份做出了决定。在那个案件中，加利福尼亚的一位法官大部分支持苹果。但是，法官确实命令苹果允许开发者在iPhone应用内添加自己的链接来处理支付。

　　电动汽车（EV）电池技术和生产

　　全球对电动汽车（EV）电池的需求持续增长。但是用于制造它们的材料供应有限。目前，中国控制着一组被称为稀土的17种金属的大部分采矿和加工。

　　生产电池的主要材料之一是锂，一种轻金属物质。其他必要的材料包括金属元素钴、锰和镍。尽管一些矿物在中国以外的国家开采，但中国公司仍然拥有这些操作的所有权。

　　为了避免依赖中国控制的材料，美国和其他国家正在寻求在国内开采和加工更多的材料。

　　2月份，美国总统乔·拜登宣布了联邦援助计划，以帮助公司开采和加工锂和其他稀有金属。其他国家，包括英国和德国，也宣布了类似的努力。

　　此外，主要汽车制造商表示，他们正在寻求新的电动汽车引擎设计，这些设计对稀土矿物的依赖性较小。电动汽车市场领导者特斯拉表示，计划在其下一代电动汽车中去除稀土。其他汽车制造商表示，他们正在研究或开发使用少量或不使用稀土矿物的电动汽车电机。这些包括通用汽车、捷豹路虎和宝马。

　　机器人的发展

　　我们报道了几项涉及机器人系统的发展。

　　美国的一个研究团队宣布，他们已经制造出一个能够在高水平上踢足球的类人机器人。这个名为ARTEMIS的机器人是少数几个可以跑步的类人机器人之一。它还可以在不同类型的表面上行走和跳跃，而不会失去平衡。团队表示，这个机器人还可以踢球，即使被踢或击打，也能保持站立。

　　在德国，许多大大小小的公司在面临严重劳动力短缺的情况下，转向机器人来填补工作岗位。国际机器人联合会估计，去年德国有大约26000台机器人投入使用。专家表示，机器人操作的增加是一个信号，表明机器人已经变得更容易使用，不需要特殊的技能。

　　然而，韩国的一个案例显示了在工作场所使用机器的风险，那里的一个工业机器人在一个蔬菜加工中心将一名工人压死。警方表示，受害者是一家向企业部署工业机器人的公司的员工。

　　NASA甚至测试了一种类似蛇的探测器，设计用于在难以到达的地方寻找生命迹象。美国航天局表示，这个机器人配备了传统的探测车辆，即漫游者，无法做到的移动方式。未来，NASA计划将这个机器人送往太空，寻找土星的卫星恩克拉多斯的地下海洋中的生命迹象。

　　我是Bryan Lynn。

　　Bryan Lynn为VOA学英语写了这个故事。

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　　本故事中的词汇

　　app – n. 可以放入移动电话或其他电子设备的小型计算机程序

　　monopoly – n. 在某一地区或市场对全部商品供应或服务的完全控制

　　battery –n. 一个可以化学储存电力的设备，使其可以在电脑和电动机等电路中作为直流电使用