THE run-up to(（重要事件的）前夕，准备期) the biggest courtroom drama in the history of artificial intelligence produced plenty of salacious(淫秽的；好色的) details, from questions about ketamine use to a list of insults traded between two of the planet’s most powerful people. Plenty more tittle-tattle(闲话，八卦) is still to come, if the opening days of Elon Musk v Sam Altman et al are any guide.
这场人工智能史上最大法庭大戏的开场前，已爆出大量八卦细节，从氯胺酮使用的质疑，到地球上最有权势的两人之间互骂的清单。如果埃隆·马斯克诉山姆·奥特曼等人案的开庭头几天有任何指引的话，更多流言蜚语还在后头。
The ramifications(后果，影响) of the trial, which began in a Californian courtroom on April 27th, could be profound. If Mr Musk wins—an outcome betting markets deem unlikely, but which remains possible—it could seriously hurt OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT and a lynchpin of the AI boom.(如果马斯克胜出——博彩市场认为不太可能，但仍有可能——将严重损害ChatGPT的制造商、AI繁荣的关键支柱OpenAI。) For many, the case will be of interest for another reason: the spectacle of two unloved billionaires who hate one another slugging it out in court.
这场始于4月27日加州法庭的审判，其影响可能深远。如果马斯克胜出——博彩市场认为不太可能，但仍有可能——将严重损害ChatGPT的制造商、AI繁荣的关键支柱OpenAI。对许多人来说，此案另一个引人注目的原因是：两位彼此憎恨且不受欢迎的亿万富翁在法庭上大打出手的奇观。
Jury selection did not disappoint. “Greedy, racist, homophobic(恐同的，厌恶同性恋的) piece of garbage,” was how one prospect described Mr Musk in a pre-trial questionnaire. “World-class jerk(傻瓜，混蛋),” opined another. Few had heard of Mr Altman, though witnesses brought by Mr Musk’s lawyers are sure to paint the boss of OpenAI as a slippery(狡猾的，不可靠的) character.
陪审团选拔没有让人失望。“贪婪、种族主义、恐同的垃圾，”一位候选人在庭前问卷中这样描述马斯克。“世界级的混蛋，”另一位如是说。很少有人听说过奥特曼，不过马斯克的律师带来的证人肯定会把OpenAI的老板描绘成一个狡猾的角色。