From GP appointments to railway tickets to cashless parking, key services in the UK are being delivered digitally. For many, the convenience is a tangible benefit. But there are appreciable downsides for the millions of people who find it difficult to carry out basic day-to-day functions in a world that assumes everyone is comfortable online. In the name of progress, the danger is that a wall is erected between wider society and a group that tends to live outside England’s south?east and be older, poorer and more vulnerable.

從預約全科醫生到買火車票，再到無現金停車，英國的重要服務都在數字化。這給很多人帶來了方便，是有目共睹的好處。但對數百萬人來說，這也帶來了不小的麻煩，他們會覺得在一個大家都上得了網的世界里，連最基本的日常事務都難以辦理。以進步為名，卻有可能在廣大社會和一個通常居住在英格蘭東南部之外、年紀較大、貧困易受傷害的群體之間筑起一道隔閡。

The cost of living crisis has only made the matter worse. Citizens Advice said a million people disconnected their broadband in the last year because they couldn’t afford it. This when roughly nine of out 10 of all jobs are advertised only on the internet. Trying to lower household bills these days requires a higher level of technical skills as customer services at banks and energy companies are replaced by chat functions or online contact forms requiring email addresses.

生活成本危機讓問題更加嚴重。公民咨詢公司稱，去年有100萬人因為負擔不起寬帶費用而斷開網絡。而此時此刻，幾乎所有的工作機會都只在網上發布。現在，想要節省家庭開支就需要更高的技術能力，因為銀行和能源公司的客服已經被需要填寫電子郵件地址的在線聊天或表單所替代。

It would be wrong to put resources out of the reach of those who would benefit from them most. Yet the government has “ambitions for widespread digital transformation” in at least 75 public services. Earlier this year, Age UK said that many London councils provide no offline access to housing benefit, council tax reductions, rebates, or blue badge applications.

把資源放在那些最需要它們的人夠不著的地方是不對的。但是，政府卻在至少75項公共服務上“有著廣泛數字化改革的雄心”。今年年初，Age UK說，很多倫敦市政府沒有提供線下申請住房補貼、減免物業稅、退稅或殘疾人停車證的途徑。

In June, the House of Lords communications and digital committee was dismayed to find that the government does not “appear to have conducted a single assessment of the economic impacts of digital exclusion in recent years”. Despite the government’s aim to make the UK the centre of AI regulation internationally, the peers argued in a report that ministers do not have a “credible plan” to tackle digital exclusion.

今年6月，英國上議院通信和數字化委員會驚訝地發現，政府“似乎從未對近年來數字化缺失帶來的經濟影響做過任何評估”。盡管政府的目標是讓英國成為全球人工智能監管的領導者，但委員會在一份報告中認為，內閣成員沒有一個“可行的方案”來應對數字化缺失的問題。

There has been little analysis on the impact of artificial intelligence in public-facing services, its likely trajectory over the next five years and the effects on digital exclusion policy. The committee recommended that the prime minister’s office takes a direct interest in tackling the internet underclass because the peers had no faith in the ability of the newly created Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

對于人工智能在面向公眾的服務中的影響、未來五年的發展趨勢以及對數字化缺失政策的影響，目前還缺乏深入的分析。委員會建議首相辦公室親自著手解決網絡弱勢群體的問題，因為委員們對新設立的科學、創新和技術部門的能力不抱希望。

The report should be required reading for ministers. It rightly argues for better social tariffs to allow poorer people to gain internet access and says that broadband coverage is not what it should be. Perhaps its most significant contribution is in exposing the limitations of seeing the world wholly through a desiccated cost-benefit analysis. Businesses and government cannot keep on just pushing the process of administering services on to users.

這份報告應該是各部長的必讀之作。它恰當地主張提高社會資費的優惠程度，讓貧困人群能夠接入互聯網，并指出寬帶覆蓋率遠未達到應有的水平。也許它最重大的貢獻在于揭露了用干巴巴的成本效益分析來看待世界的局限性。企業和政府不能一直只是把提供服務的過程推給用戶。

Countries such as Iceland, said the peers, had “prioritised local, in-person support to accompany their digital transformation strategies”. There seems to be a strong case that there must be adequate provision maintained for those who cannot or do not wish to use online public services. That should also be true for key service providers in the private sector – which, as a first step, could be expected to adopt design accessibility standards used by the public sector.

委員們表示，冰島等國家把當地的、面對面的支持作為其數字化轉型戰略的重點。似乎有充分的理由認為，必須為那些不能或不愿使用在線公共服務的人保持足夠的服務供給。私營部門的主要服務提供者也應該如此——作為第一步，可以期待他們遵循公共部門使用的無障礙設計標準。

With every year, it seems that Britain is, by design, slowly isolating technically less adept groups. Being unable to claim benefits or to speak to customer services because of a lack of computing know-how is unjust. On the grounds of fairness and inclusion, it cannot be allowed to continue.

隨著時間的推移，英國似乎有意識地將技術上不太擅長的群體逐漸孤立起來。由于缺乏計算機技能而無法申請福利或與客服人員溝通是不公正的。基于公平和包容的原則，不能容忍這種情況繼續發生。

節選自《衛報》：The Guardian view on the digital divide: a growing problem that must be taken seriously

1. tangible adj. 有形的；實際的；真實的；可觸摸的

例：tangible benefits/improvements/results, etc. 實際的好處、改進、效果等

2. erect v. 建立；建造；豎立；設立 adj. 垂直的；豎直的；直立的

例：The church was erected in 1582. 此教堂建于1582年。

3. rebate n. 折扣；退還款 v. 削弱；給…回扣；使鈍（刀刃）

例：Buyers are offered a cash rebate. 購買者享受現金折扣。

4. dismay n. 驚愕；詫異；灰心；喪氣 v. 使詫異；使驚愕；使失望

例：Local councillors have reacted with dismay and indignation...

地方政務委員的反應是驚恐和憤怒。

5. trajectory n. 彈道；軌道；軌線

例：My career seemed to be on a downward trajectory.

我的事業似乎在走下坡路。

6. underclass n. 社會底層；貧困階層

例：The long-term unemployed are becoming a new underclass.

長期失業的人正形成新的貧困階層。

7. tariff n. 關稅；收費表；量刑標準 v. 征收關稅；定稅率；定收費標準

例：The daily tariff includes accommodation and unlimited use of the pool and gymnasium. 日常費用包括住宿以及游泳池和健身房的不限時使用。

8. desiccated adj. 脫水的；干燥法保存的；干涸的；枯竭的

例：treeless and desiccated soil 無樹的荒蕪干旱土地

9. know-how n. 專門知識；技能；實際經驗

例：We need skilled workers and technical know-how.

我們需要熟練工人和專業技術知識。

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