Reshaping the world for a fossil fuel-free future means working quickly. Climate scientists say carbon emissions must stop by 2025 to minimize environmental damage. And by designing computational materials together with makers who can build and test them quickly, scientists can rapidly develop technologies like more powerful solar cells and car batteries.

Michael is the name of a supercomputer devoted to just one task―discovering the ultimate battery system. Researchers at University College London will use Michael to digitally build and test prototypes (原型) in every new material and type of cell possible to improve battery life, performance and price.

Finding a resilient (弹性的) design for solid-state batteries would be a huge breakthrough for electric vehicles and energy storage. Lighter, longer-lasting and cheaper solid-state technology could vastly improve vehicle range and charging time. And the energy from solar and wind power could be more efficiently stored until ready for use.

Scientists working in the US and the UK led the way in the 1970s in developing the lithium-ion (锂离子) battery used in today’s electric cars, laptops and cameras, But commercial units were only developed once the Japanese electronics giant pushed the technology forward for mass production. Partnerships between companies and universities could ultimately crack solid-state battery design. Oxford University and some companies are looking to win the international race to create a durable product. But they are only one among many.

Replacing liquid used in lithium-ion batteries with a solid conductor may take large digital processing. Electric vehicle makers are working with a computer giant to find successful designs that may include cheap and plentiful materials found in seawater. An electric vehicle maker is partnering with NASA to open a solid-state battery plant that uses no rare or expensive metals. The plan is to create a large database of materials that can be mixed and matched for the best combinations.

But computational materials may be needed in virtually every industry. And by rapidly classifying millions of substances on their ability to conduct electricity, their toughness, or the way they reflect light, AI and supercomputers can speed up the process of creating materials for just about anything.

We’re growing more used to chatting to our computers, phones and smart speakers through voice assistants. Out of these assistants, Siri is the most well-known spoken web. Blind people have been using text-to-speech assistant for decades. 【小题1】

Some think voice could soon take over from clicking as the main way to interact online. They believe online interaction would soon depend mainly on voice. 【小题2】

Building the spoken web—web-to-voice and voice-to-web—is by no means an easy task. For software to answer simple questions about the weather and play music for us is easy. 【小题3】 Artificial intelligence isn’t smart enough yet. Even turning your voice into text is one of the hardest problems to solve. There are as many ways to pronounce things as there are people on the planet.

Using voice interaction feels far closer than surfing the net the old-fashioned way. 【小题4】 But if something speaks, it must also listen. Our phones are always near us and they are constantly collecting their personal information. This has already raised privacy concerns. People worry assistants will one day be used to deliver advertising directly to us.

【小题5】 In environments when one’s hands are occupied, such as while driving or cooking, the spoken web is helpful. Think about when you are cooking, it is natural to talk. And speech obviously makes sense when you are driving. On the other hand, in a quiet library, using voice commands to ask a question may not be as suitable as typing, as it could disturb others. The effectiveness of using voice depends on the specific surroundings.