KEITH BRADSHER2026年11月2日For anyone kept awake by the infernal whine of mosquitoes, artificial intelligence may be coming to the rescue — armed with a laser.对于那些被蚊子该死的嗡嗡声折磨得夜不能寐的人来说，人工智能可能正携激光赶来相救。A Chinese company has started marketing a $1,000 A.I.-enabled device that tracks mosquitoes in flight and burns their wings off. It uses technology found in self-driving cars to pinpoint its targets, while relying on A.I. to decide when it is safe to fire.一家中国公司已开始推销一款售价1000美元、搭载人工智能的设备。它能够追踪飞行中的蚊子，并用激光烧掉它们的翅膀。该设备利用自动驾驶汽车所采用的技术精确锁定目标，同时依靠人工智能判断何时可以安全发射激光。During a recent demonstration at the offices of Photon Matrix, the company behind the device, it appeared remarkably effective. The white, nearly brick-size machine quickly zapped mosquito after mosquito, each bursting into a green or blue flame with a tiny pop.最近，在这款设备的研发公司光之矩智能科技有限公司的办公室举行的一场演示中，它展现出了惊人的灭蚊效果。这台大小接近一块砖头的白色机器迅速将一只又一只蚊子击落。每只蚊子被击中时，都会伴随着轻微的爆裂声，迸出绿色或蓝色的火光。For anyone who has ever wished mosquitoes a horrible death, this is a strikingly high-tech way to make that wish a reality. The laser delivers a gruesome end, though not a quick one. Mosquitoes whose wings have burned off can take hours or even days to die, lying on the ground and twitching slightly, said Wang Chuan, chief executive and founder of Photon Matrix, based in Changzhou, about 100 miles northwest of Shanghai.对于任何希望蚊子不得好死的人来说，这种高科技手段无疑能让他们如愿以偿。激光确实能让蚊子死得很惨，却无法让它们迅速毙命。光之矩的首席执行官、创始人王川说，翅膀被烧掉的蚊子会躺在地上，身体微微抽搐，要过数小时甚至数天才会死亡。该公司位于上海西北约160公里的常州。After the demonstration, I examined the fallen mosquitoes. The wings appeared to be gone, but their legs and bodies looked intact. None could fly, even when I waved my hand directly over them.演示结束后，我仔细查看了掉落在地上的蚊子。它们的翅膀似乎已经没有了，但腿和身体看起来完好无损。即使我把手伸到它们正上方挥动，也没有一只蚊子能飞起来。常州光之矩智能科技有限公司的一间测试室内，一只失去飞行能力的蚊子落在地上。这款激光灭蚊设备的近照。激光从设备上较大的矩形玻璃窗口射出。光之矩公司的技术人员正在放蚊子，以测试设备性能。But there is a potentially dangerous catch. A laser powerful enough to disable a mosquito can also damage the human eye.但存在一个潜在的危险隐患。强大到足以让蚊子失去行动能力的激光，同样可能伤害人眼。The device, the Laser Mosquito Air Defense System, uses a Class 4 laser, the most powerful classification, typically reserved for industrial applications. Such lasers can cause retinal injuries in less than a second, and their sale and use are tightly regulated.该设备名为激光灭蚊防空系统，使用4类激光——最高功率等级，通常用于工业应用。这类激光可在不到一秒内造成视网膜损伤，其销售和使用受到严格监管。While the United States leads in developing the most advanced A.I. models, the device shows how quickly China is embedding powerful computing in consumer products. The technology also has military potential. It’s not hard to imagine how a system that tracks and shoots down mosquitoes today could be adapted to target drones tomorrow.尽管美国在开发最先进的人工智能模型方面处于领先地位，但这款设备表明，中国正以多么快的速度将强大的计算能力融入消费产品。这项技术也具有军事应用潜力。不难想像，一套如今能够追踪并击落蚊子的系统，未来也可能经过改造，用于瞄准无人机。Mr. Wang said that the company was seeking regulatory approval in China, Europe and the United States and that he believed Chinese approval was close.王川表示，公司正在中国、欧洲和美国申请监管批准，他相信很快就能获得中国监管部门的批准。In the United States, manufacturers can begin selling new laser devices after submitting paperwork to the Food and Drug Administration, which does not test the products, said Ken Barat, a former laser safety officer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who oversaw the drafting of the world’s technical standards for research lasers.曾担任劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室激光安全官、负责主持起草全球科研用激光技术标准的肯·巴拉特说，在美国，制造商向食品药品监督管理局(FDA)提交文件后就可以开始销售新的激光设备，而FDA并不检测产品。蚊子从网箱中飞出时，被设备发射的蓝色激光击中。Mr. Barat said Photon Matrix’s multiple safeguards could make the device safe. But he cautioned that a Class 4 laser designed to focus on something as tiny as a mosquito could pack “a lot of energy” into a small space.巴拉特说，光之矩的多重安全防护措施可能使这款设备达到安全使用的要求。但他同时警告说，专门用于瞄准蚊子这样微小目标的4类激光可能会将“大量能量”集中在一个极小的区域。Photon Matrix initially tested less powerful Class 3 lasers but found they could not reliably disable mosquitoes, Mr. Wang said. The company chose a Class 4 laser, limiting each burst to one-hundredth of a second — long enough, he said, to burn off the wings while reducing, but not eliminating, the risk of eye damage. The wings, which have little ability to absorb heat, burn off before the mosquito’s body is heavily affected.王川说，光之矩最初测试了功率较低的3类激光，但发现它们无法可靠地使蚊子失去行动能力。公司选择了4类激光，并将每次发射的持续时间限制在百分之一秒。他说，这个时长足以烧掉蚊子的翅膀，同时降低眼部受伤的风险，但无法完全消除风险。翅膀吸收热量的能力很弱，在身体受到严重影响之前，翅膀就已被烧毁。To protect people and pets, an A.I.-enabled camera recognizes them and prevents the laser from firing. The system also identifies reflective surfaces that could send beams bouncing in unpredictable directions. An infrared system provides illumination so the camera can operate at night. A separate radar system detects movement by people or pets in the laser’s path, even in total darkness.为了保护人和宠物，设备配备了一台搭载人工智能的摄像头，能够识别他们，并阻止激光发射。系统还能识别反光表面，以免激光束反射后射向难以预测的方向。红外系统提供照明，使摄像头能够在夜间工作。此外，一套独立的雷达系统能够探测激光路径上人员或宠物的活动，即使在完全黑暗的环境中也能发挥作用。Buyers must also pass a 15-question safety test, including questions like which room is least suitable for the device. (The answer: a bathroom, with high humidity, confined space and reflective surfaces.) Only those who answer every question correctly can register a fingerprint to activate the machine.购买者还必须通过一项包含15道题目的安全测试，其中一道题要求选出最不适合使用该设备的房间。（正确答案是浴室，因为那里湿度高、空间狭小，而且存在反光表面。）只有全部答对的人才能登记指纹，激活机器。在激光发射校准台上，一只蚊子被固定在一根细金属丝的末端。一面用于旋转并反射设备所发射激光的镜子。网箱中用于测试激光设备的蚊子。The mosquito hunting relies on lidar — an acronym for light detection and ranging, a technology widely used in self-driving cars. The device fires 100,000 extremely faint laser pulses a second to map an area in a flat, two-dimensional plane in front of it, tracking moving objects smaller than a pea as they cross that plane.灭蚊依赖激光雷达(lidar)，即“光探测与测距”(light detection and ranging)技术，它广泛应用于自动驾驶汽车。该设备每秒发射10万次极其微弱的激光脉冲，对前方一个平面的二维区域进行扫描测绘，并追踪穿过该平面、体积比豌豆还小的移动物体。The idea of shooting mosquitoes out of the air with lasers predates the current A.I. boom. In 2010, Intellectual Ventures, a company founded by a former chief technology officer at Microsoft, unveiled a similar anti-mosquito system but never mass-produced it.用激光在空中击落蚊子的想法早在当前这波人工智能热潮兴起之前就已出现。2010年，由微软前首席技术官创办的公司Intellectual Ventures曾发布过一套类似的激光灭蚊系统，但从未量产。Photon Matrix said it had received 5,000 prepaid orders for the device and had secured a contract manufacturer, with mass production expected to begin within weeks.光之矩表示，已收到5000份预付订单，并已确定一家合同制造商，预计几周内开始量产。Mr. Wang is already planning a next-generation device that would fire even shorter bursts. With a future model, he hopes, the eye’s moisture will absorb the laser energy before it reaches the retina.王川已经开始规划下一代设备，届时激光脉冲的持续时间将进一步缩短。他希望，未来的型号能够让人眼中的水分在激光能量抵达视网膜之前就将其吸收。Siyi Zhao对本文有研究贡献。Keith Bradsher是《纽约时报》北京分社社长，此前曾任上海分社社长、香港分社社长、底特律分社社长，以及华盛顿记者。他在新冠疫情期间常驻中国进行报道。翻译：纽约时报中文网点击查看本文英文版。