OCTOBER IS EVENTFUL in Alaska. Its vast landscapes erupt in a riot of colour(五彩缤纷), daylight becomes precious and beefy(壮硕的；结实的) bears rush to fatten themselves before winter. It is also the month Alaskans get a payday. Each October the state government disburse(支付；拨付)s dividends from the investment earnings of its oil revenues. The amount varies, but this October each resident who has lived in the state at least one full calendar year(日历年) will receive $1,200.
十月在阿拉斯加是个热闹非凡的月份。广袤的大地迸发出斑斓的色彩，白昼变得珍贵，壮硕的熊赶在入冬前抓紧增肥。这也是阿拉斯加人领钱的日子。每年十月，州政府都会从石油收入的投资收益中拨付红利。金额时有浮动，但今年十月，每位在该州住满一个完整日历年度的居民都将收到1200美元。
For half a century Alaska has run an experiment in how to use revenues from its abundant oil resources for the public good(为了公共利益). Now, as American lawmakers grapple with(努力应对；设法解决) whether and how to share the wealth that artificial intelligence might create, the state’s experience has new relevance(相关性；现实意义). Proposals to put stake(股份；利害关系)s in AI companies into a public fund, and use the proceeds(收益；收入) to pay dividends or finance public services, echo(呼应；与……相似) Alaska’s approach. But Alaska’s Permanent Fund and its dividend offer both a model and a cautionary tale(警世故事；前车之鉴).
半个世纪以来，阿拉斯加一直在进行一项实验：如何将丰富的石油资源收入用于公共福祉。如今，美国立法者正纠结于是否以及如何分享人工智能可能创造的财富，阿拉斯加的经验因此有了新的现实意义。有人提议将人工智能公司的股份注入公共基金，再用收益来发放红利或资助公共服务，这与阿拉斯加的做法如出一辙。但阿拉斯加的永久基金及其红利既提供了范本，也敲响了警钟。
The state’s good fortune dates back to 1968, when roughneck(石油钻井工人)s drilling at Prudhoe Bay, on Alaska’s North Slope, struck oil. Less than a decade later Alaskans voted to create the Permanent Fund, an investment vehicle for a portion of annual mineral royalties. The idea, says Mike Dunleavy, the Republican governor, “was to ensure that finite resources such as oil mining could be converted into infinite revenue for the people of Alaska”.(共和党州长迈克·邓利维说，这个想法“是为了确保石油开采这类有限资源能够转化为阿拉斯加人民源源不断的收入”。) In 1980 the legislature created an independent state-run corporation to manage the Permanent Fund’s investments. Two years later Alaska began paying the dividend. Today the fund is worth $90bn, or roughly $122,000 per Alaskan.
该州的好运始于1968年，当时在阿拉斯加北坡普拉德霍湾钻探的石油工人打出了石油。不到十年后，阿拉斯加人投票决定设立永久基金，作为每年部分矿产特许权使用费的投资工具。共和党州长迈克·邓利维说，这个想法“是为了确保石油开采这类有限资源能够转化为阿拉斯加人民源源不断的收入”。1980年，州议会成立了一家独立的州营公司来管理永久基金的投资。两年后，阿拉斯加开始发放红利。如今，该基金价值900亿美元，相当于每个阿拉斯加人约12.2万美元。