There is a great line in the movie Jurassic Park where the character Dr. Ian Malcolm, a chaos theorist says, “Yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
Is it a good thing to know whether someone is lying? Is telling the truth always the best?
Let’s be honest, we all know that people are constantly lying. Most of it is not malicious or even harmful. If you and I told the truth all the time it would be exhausting and detrimental to our relationships.
But we would all agree that there are certain behaviors that are especially damaging to relationships, including infidelity, substance abuse, and other addictive behaviors, where we bear the costs of others’ choices. These types of behaviors inflict costs not only on the family, but on society as a whole, including social, economic, and political loss. In these cases, knowing the truth is necessary if any progress to rehabilitation and repair of any relationships is possible.
If we agree that certain answers are necessary, are there ways of acquiring that knowledge that are inappropriate? Certainly without consent no technology should ever be applied to an individual. Lie detection technology is best used as a tool for accountability and insights, especially for knowledge that if known would help those we love recover from addictions or mistakes and repair the relationships that create stability and happiness.
Let me suggest an example of appropriate use of technology. If a young man was struggling with pornography and wanted to change his habits, he might use technology as an accountability tool to help him keep commitments. An inappropriate use would be to have parents, friends, or other church or community leaders force that youth to take tests to “prove” their innocence. The simple test is whether applying technology robs an individual of their agency.
Ultimately new AI technologies have the potential to do tremendous good or bad, depending entirely on how they are implemented. We all need to be careful in the decisions we make about how they are applied.