AI results in the erosion of Trust.

The best way of explaining this is by talking about a bird everyone knows: Peacocks.

Why do male Peacocks have a massive and extravagantly colorful tail?

From an evolutionary perspective the Peacock’s tail doesn’t make sense:

• The tail is like a giant neon sign that says ‘Please eat me, I’m pretty’.

• The sheer size and weight ruins their mobility. The tail makes up to 60% of the bird’s total body length and makes them clumsy, slow to take off and terrible at flying away from danger.

• It drains energy. Growing and renewing all those massive, complex and beautiful feathers every single year takes energy, which could be better used for other purposes, like having more muscles, superior eyesight or being better able to fight diseases.

The Peacock’s Tail already puzzled Darwin, the sight of a Peacock’s father made him sick.

Yet if you understand why the Peacock’s tail does make sense, you will also understand why AI results in the erosion of Trust.