The chips are quite small and some can be held in the palm of a hand. They are fundamental(基本的，根本的) to the development of artificial intelligence models – and the world’s biggest technology companies need vast numbers of them to keep ahead(保持领先).
这些芯片非常小，有些甚至可以放在手掌心里。它们对人工智能模型的发展至关重要——而全球最大的科技公司需要大量的芯片才能保持领先。
Microsoft is one of them. And, on paper(理论上，表面上), it seems to have a problem. A Guardian investigation has found an apparent discrepancy(差异，不一致) between what the company has said about its AI capacity – and the number of advanced AI chips it has in operation(在运行中，投入使用).
微软就是其中之一。而且，从表面上看，它似乎存在问题。《卫报》的一项调查发现，该公司关于其AI能力的说法与其实际运行的先进AI芯片数量之间存在明显出入。
It is not a small shortfall(缺口，不足) either. Microsoft reportedly(据报道) targeted having 1.8m AI chips installed in its datacentres around the globe by the end of 2024. Nearly two years on(两年后), in the middle of a $280bn (£208bn) expansion(扩张，扩展), the company has 2.2m AI chips installed, according to internal documents seen by the Guardian. This is less than half(不到一半) the number some experts had imagined.
这也不是一个小缺口。据报道，微软的目标是到2024年底在全球数据中心安装180万颗AI芯片。近两年过去了，在公司2800亿美元（2080亿英镑）的扩张过程中，根据《卫报》看到的内部文件，该公司已安装了220万颗AI芯片。这还不到一些专家想象数量的一半。
Microsoft: a power vacuum?
微软：权力真空？
‘You may have a bunch of chips … you can’t plug in’
“你可能有一堆芯片……却插不上电”
Where are the chips, if not in the datacentres?
如果不在数据中心，芯片在哪里？
How to calculate numbers of chips from a company’s ‘AI capacity’
如何从公司的“AI能力”计算芯片数量