Artificial Intelligence for Life

I once read about a conversation a locksmith had with a home owner about the safety of the locks he was installing.

The locksmith said there will always be that small percentage of the population that will break into your house no matter what locks you put on. On the flip side, there will always be that small proportion of the population that will never break into your house.

So what the locksmith is saying is that it is the majority of people that this lock is for. After all, 1% of the population will always be good citizens – i.e. Martin Luther King Jr, Mahatma Ghandi and Mother Theresa – and 1% of the population will always be bad.

So what about the 98% of the remaining population? It’s this remaining portion we should be worried about.

This group consists of people who you work with, your neighbours, people you see in the shops. On the balance, they are for the most part nice people and will do the right thing most of the time – but when tempted in the right circumstances are most probably likely to do the wrong thing.

So why do people lie? If given a chance, the most common reasons given to justify their actions is:

1. “Well everyone does it.”
2. “It’s only a small thing, it’s no big deal, it’s not like it’s a major crime.”
3. “Well, I did it for a good reason: my friend needed help, or my colleague has been doing it hard.”

The three reasons above happen to be the most powerful forces that influence the 98% of the population at the point of temptation.