NOWHERE IN HISTORY(历史上任何地方都没有) has created so much wealth so quickly. San Francisco is home to OpenAI and Anthropic, the two leading artificial-intelligence labs together worth nearly $2trn, based on some recent valuations. It hosts 91 other AI “unicorns”, private companies worth more than $1bn, collectively valued at a further $600bn. A dozen or so billionaires who made their money from AI live in the city. Competition for the cleverest computer-science clogs(（此处比喻）人才) is fierce. Why, then, is the world’s AI central struggling?(那么，为什么世界AI中心却在挣扎？)
历史上没有任何地方如此迅速地创造了如此多的财富。旧金山是OpenAI和Anthropic的所在地，这两家领先的人工智能实验室根据近期估值合计价值近2万亿美元。该市还拥有91家其他AI“独角兽”，即估值超过10亿美元的私营公司，总价值额外达6000亿美元。大约十几位靠AI致富的亿万富翁居住在这座城市。对最聪明的计算机科学人才的竞争十分激烈。那么，为什么世界AI中心却在挣扎？
The strongest apparent evidence for San Francisco’s latest technological windfall(意外之财) is in the city’s priciest residential districts, near the Golden Gate bridge. One home in Pacific Heights, listed for just under $6m, recently sold for $8m (and it is “not necessarily the fancy part”, according to Rohin Dhar, a local estate agent(房地产经纪人)). A hilltop house, with views of the sea, recently went for $56m (it is, admittedly, quite nice). The city’s elite complain about a “mansion(豪宅、公馆) shortage”. According to data from Zillow, an estate agent, in the past year the average price of a single-family home in the city’s five most expensive postcodes has risen by close to 10%.
旧金山最新技术意外之财最明显的证据是靠近金门大桥的该市最昂贵住宅区。太平洋高地的一处住宅，挂牌价不到600万美元，最近以800万美元成交（据当地房地产经纪人罗欣·达尔称，这“不一定是最豪华的部分”）。一栋可眺望海景的山顶房屋最近以5600万美元成交（无可否认，相当不错）。该市精英抱怨“豪宅短缺”。根据房地产网站Zillow的数据，过去一年该市五个最昂贵邮政编码区的独栋住宅均价上涨了近10%。
AI, however, is unlikely to be responsible for this luxury-housing boom. The market is as strong or stronger in other ultra-fancy parts of America, including parts of the Hamptons and Aspen (see chart 1). This reflects, in part, surging stockmarkets and a strong economy. Many, possibly most, of the plutocrats(富豪、财阀) currently buying in San Francisco are not AI moguls(大亨、巨头). In 2024 Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs, the iPhone pioneer, paid $70m for a spot on Billionaire’s Row(亿万富翁街). Algeria’s government recently spent nearly $10m on a large mansion. Some buyers may be drawn by San Francisco’s AI fame. More are probably attracted by a big city with breathtaking views.
然而，AI不太可能是此次豪华住宅繁荣的原因。在美国其他超高档地区，包括汉普顿和亚斯彭的部分地区，房地产市场同样强劲甚至更强（见图表1）。这在一定程度上反映了股市飙升和强劲的经济。目前正在旧金山购房的巨富中，许多（可能大部分）并非AI大亨。2024年，iPhone先驱史蒂夫·乔布斯的遗孀劳伦·鲍威尔·乔布斯以7000万美元在亿万富翁街购得一席之地。阿尔及利亚政府最近花费近1000万美元购买了一处大宅。一些买家可能被旧金山的AI声誉所吸引，但更多人可能是被这座拥有壮丽景色的大城市所吸引。
I left my hearth in San Francisco
我的炉灶留在了旧金山
