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Finance and economics: Robots v humans Machine earning
財經：人機對戰，機器學習
Jobs in poor countries may be especially vulnerable to automation.
貧窮國家的工作崗位更容易受到自動化的沖擊。
Bill Burr, an American entertainer, was dismayed when he first came across an automated checkout.
美國藝人Bill Burr第一次使用自動收銀臺時感覺很不自然。
“I thought I was a comedian; evidently I also work in a grocery store,” he complained. “I can't believe I forgot my apron.”
他抱怨說：“我感覺我就像一個小丑，就像是我也在雜貨店工作。就差自己給自己帶一個圍裙了”。
Those whose jobs are at risk of being displaced by machines are no less grumpy.
那些工作有被機器取代風險的人們仍然是煩躁的。
A study published in 2013 by Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne of Oxford University stoked anxieties when it found that 47% of jobs in America were vulnerable to automation.
在2013年，牛津大學的Carl Benedikt Frey 和 Michael Osborne公布的研究報告增加了（人們的）焦慮情緒。報告中指出美國47%的工作會受到自動化的影響。
Machines are mastering ever more intricate tasks, such as translating texts or diagnosing illnesses.
機器正在掌握更復雜的能力，例如翻譯文本或者診斷病情。
Robots are also becoming capable of manual labour that hitherto could be carried out only by dexterous humans.
到目前為止，機器人的動手能力也越來越接近熟練工。
Yet America is the high ground when it comes to automation, according to a new report from the same pair along with other authors.
而據來自同一研究機構的新報告指出，在自動化進程中，美國還是有優勢的。
The proportion of threatened jobs is much greater in poorer countries: 69% in India, 77% in China and as high as 85% in Ethiopia.
在更落后國家中失業率將會更加加?。河《?9%，中國77%，埃塞俄比亞高達85%。
There are two reasons. First, jobs in such places are generally less skilled.
有兩個原因。第一：這些地方的工作一般缺乏技術含量。
Second, there is less capital tied up in old ways of doing things.
第二：舊的生產方式占用較少的資金。
Driverless taxis might take off more quickly in a new city in China, for instance, than in an old one in Europe.
例如：比起歐洲某個古老的城市，無人駕駛可能更快的在中國的新城市中投入。
Attracting investment in labour-intensive manufacturing has been a route to riches for many developing countries, including China.
包括中國在內的許多發展中國家，在勞動密集型制造業吸引投資是一個致富的方法。
But having a surplus of cheap labour is becoming less of a lure to manufacturers.
但是擁有過剩的廉價勞動力對制造商的吸引越來越小。
An investment in industrial robots can be repaid in less than two years.
工業機器人的投資不用兩年就可以回本。
This is a particular worry for the poor and underemployed in Africa and India, where industrialisation has stalled at low levels of income—a phenomenon dubbed “premature deindustrialisation” by Dani Rodrik of Harvard University.
在落后以及低就業率的非洲和印度這樣的情況尤其值得擔心，這些國家的工業化進程已經完全滯后在一個低收入水平。哈弗大學的Dani Rodrik把這也現象稱為“過早的工業倒退”。
Rich countries have more of the sorts of jobs that are harder for machines to replicate—those that require original ideas (creating advertising) , or complex social interactions (arguing a case in court) , or a blend of analysis and dexterity (open-heart surgery) .
富裕的國家能提供更多樣，并且不是機器能簡單復制的工作，例如那些需要創意的（廣告），需要復雜的社會活動（律師），以及需要融合分析和熟練操作的工作（開胸手術）。
But poorer countries are not powerless.
但是更落后的國家不是無能為力的。
Just because a job is deemed at risk from automation, it does not necessarily mean it will be replaced soon, notes Mr Frey.
Frey先生解釋說：“雖然一份工作存在被自動化取代的風險，但它不一定意味著不久就會被取代。”
The cheapness of labour in relation to capital affects the rate of automation.
與廉價勞動力相關的投資成本影響了自動化的普及。
Passing laws that make it less costly to hire and fire workers is likely to slow its advance.
法律允許的雇傭和解雇工人的低成本也容易減緩它的迭代。
Scale also matters: farms in many poor countries are often too small to benefit from machines that have been around for decades.
規模同樣會影響它：許多落后國家的農業規模太小以至于不能從自動化中得到利潤，這樣的情況持續了差不多有數十年。
Consumer preferences are a third barrier.
消費習慣是第三個障礙。
Mr Burr is hardly alone in hating automated checkouts, which explains why 3m cashiers are still employed in America.
Burr先生不是唯一一個討厭自動收銀的人，這很好的解釋了為什么美國仍然有三百萬的收營員。
