Among the annoying challenges facing the middle class is one that will probably go unmentioned in the next presidential campaign: What happens when the robots come for their jobs?

中產(chǎn)階級(jí)所面臨的一個(gè)令人惱火的挑戰(zhàn)可能不會(huì)在下一屆總統(tǒng)競選時(shí)被提及，那就是：機(jī)器人取代了他們的工作后將會(huì)發(fā)生什么？

Don't dismiss that possibility entirely.

不要完全排除這種可能性。

About half of U.S. jobs are at high risk of being automated, according to a University of Oxford study, with the middle class disproportionately squeezed.

牛津**的一項(xiàng)研究顯示，美國有大約一半工作面臨著被自動(dòng)化取代的高風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，而壓力最大的則是中產(chǎn)階級(jí)。

Lower-income jobs like gardening or day care don't appeal to robots.

園藝、日托等低收入職業(yè)并不會(huì)吸引機(jī)器人。

But many middle-class occupations - trucking, financial advice, software engineering - have aroused their interest, or soon will.

但貨運(yùn)、財(cái)務(wù)咨詢、軟件工程等許多中產(chǎn)階級(jí)職業(yè)已經(jīng)或馬上就會(huì)引起它們的興趣。

The rich own the robots, so they will be fine.

富人是機(jī)器人的擁有者，因此他們沒事。

This isn't to be alarmist. Optimists point out that technological upheaval has benefited workers in the past.

這不是危言聳聽。樂觀主義者指出，在過去，技術(shù)的發(fā)展讓工人受益。

The Industrial Revolution didn't go so well for Luddites whose jobs were displaced by mechanized looms, but it eventually raised living standards and created more jobs than it destroyed.

工業(yè)革命對于被機(jī)械織布機(jī)取代工作的盧德派而言并不順利，但它最終提高了人們的生活水平，創(chuàng)造的就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)也比淘汰的工作要多。

Likewise, automation should eventually boost productivity, stimulate demand by driving down prices, and free workers from hard, boring work.

同樣地，自動(dòng)化最終會(huì)提高生產(chǎn)力、通過拉低價(jià)格來刺激需求、把工人從艱苦枯燥的工作中解放出來。

But in the medium term, middle-class workers may need a lot of help adjusting.

但從中期來看，中產(chǎn)階級(jí)工人可能需要很多幫助才能調(diào)整。

The first step, as Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee argue in The Second Machine Age, should be rethinking education and job training.

正如埃里克·布萊恩約弗森和安德魯·麥卡菲在二人合著的《第二次機(jī)器革命》中所述，第一步應(yīng)該是重新思考教育和職業(yè)培訓(xùn)。

Curriculums - from grammar school to college - should evolve to focus less on memorizing facts and more on creativity and complex communication.

從文法學(xué)校到**的課程應(yīng)該發(fā)展成更加注重創(chuàng)新和復(fù)雜交流，而不是記憶事實(shí)。

Vocational schools should do a better job of fostering problem-solving skills and helping students work alongside robots.

職業(yè)學(xué)校應(yīng)該更好地培養(yǎng)學(xué)生解決問題和幫助學(xué)生與機(jī)器人共事的能力。

Online education can supplement the traditional kind. It could make extra training and instruction affordable.

在線教育可以作為傳統(tǒng)教育的補(bǔ)充，它提供了讓人們負(fù)擔(dān)得起的額外培訓(xùn)和指導(dǎo)。

Professionals trying to acquire new skills will be able to do so without going into debt.

專業(yè)人士不用負(fù)債累累也可以獲取新技能了。

The challenge of coping with automation underlines the need for the U.S. to revive its fading business dynamism: Starting new companies must be made easier.

應(yīng)對自動(dòng)化這一挑戰(zhàn)強(qiáng)調(diào)，美國需要重振其衰退的商業(yè)活力：創(chuàng)立新公司要變得更加容易。

In previous eras of drastic technological change, entrepreneurs smoothed the transition by dreaming up ways to combine labor and machines.

在過去的技術(shù)大變革時(shí)代，企業(yè)家將勞動(dòng)力和機(jī)器進(jìn)行結(jié)合，以此實(shí)現(xiàn)平穩(wěn)過渡。

The best uses of 3D printers and virtual reality haven't been invented yet. The U.S. needs the new companies that will invent them.

現(xiàn)在仍未發(fā)明出3D打印機(jī)和虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)的最佳用途，而美國需要新的公司來發(fā)明出來。

Finally, because automation threatens to widen the gap between capital income and labor income, taxes and the safety net will have to be rethought.

最后，由于自動(dòng)化會(huì)擴(kuò)大資本收入與勞動(dòng)收入之間的差距，人們必須重新考慮稅收和安全網(wǎng)。

Taxes on low-wage labor need to be cut, and wage subsidies such as the earned income tax credit should be expanded:

應(yīng)當(dāng)削減低薪員工的稅收，增加所得稅優(yōu)惠等工資補(bǔ)貼：

This would boost incomes, encourage work, reward companies for job creation, and reduce inequality.

這會(huì)提高收入、鼓勵(lì)工作、獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)創(chuàng)造就業(yè)的公司以及減少不平等。

Technology will improve society in ways big and small over the next few years, yet this will be little comfort to those who find their lives and careers upended by automation.

在未來的幾年里，技術(shù)將會(huì)以或大或小的方式改善社會(huì)，但對于那些因自動(dòng)化而顛倒生活和工作的人而言，這并不能安慰到他們。

Destroying the machines that are coming for our jobs would be nuts. But policies to help workers adapt will be indispensable.

摧毀那些因我們的工作而生的機(jī)器是瘋狂的，但幫助工人適應(yīng)的政策將是必不可少的。