这是所谓的“假拟分裂句”，是强调句型的一种。例如：

He bought a new car.

需要强调宾语时，用what作主句的宾语，引导主语从句，原来的宾语作表语，得到：

What he bought was a new car.

这种句型也可以强调主语。例如：

The new car is in front of the house.

What is in front of the house is the new car.

你的句子就是假拟分裂句强调主语。不强调的句子为：

To design a robot that can respond independently to a changing world is beyond man's ability now. 原句不定式短语作主语。

改写为假拟分裂句强调主语，则得到：

What is beyond man's ability now is to design a robot that can respond independently to a changing world.

这个句子是没有歧义的。你不会翻译，是因为你没有看懂这个句子的结构。