Honesty in the Digital Age
通过两个实验（共848名被试）发现，与机器互动时人们为金钱利益作弊的概率是与真人互动时的三倍，且不诚实者更倾向选择机器互动，表明人的存在是抑制不诚实行为的关键。
Modern communication technologies enable efficient exchange of information but often sacrifice direct human interaction inherent in more traditional forms of communication. This raises the question of whether the lack of personal interaction induces individuals to exploit informational asymmetries. We conducted two experiments with a total of 848 subjects to examine how human versus machine interaction influences cheating for financial gain. We find that individuals cheat about three times more when they interact with a machine rather than a person, regardless of whether the machine is equipped with human features. When interacting with a human, individuals are particularly reluctant to report unlikely and therefore, suspicious outcomes, which is consistent with social image concerns. The second experiment shows that dishonest individuals prefer to interact with a machine when facing an opportunity to cheat. Our results suggest that human presence is key to mitigating dishonest behavior and that self-selection into communication channels can be used to screen for dishonest people. This paper was accepted by Axel Ockenfels, decision analysis.