Does your Ask result in 'Cobra Effect'

To ‘Ask’ is to say to (someone) that one wants them to do or give something. In exercising our Ask we often do not realize the unintended consequences that follows. We think when we Ask we have accounted for calculated risk, weighing out the best and worst case scenario, but invariably fail to see sometimes painful unintended consequences results of our choices.

'Cobra Effect’ is one such learning which describes unintended negative consequences when a reward or incentive is offered to solve a problem. From a political perspective human beings react to every rule, regulation, and order governments impose and their reactions result in outcomes that can be quite different than the outcomes lawmakers intended. It once happened during the British raj over India, officials of the government were terrified by a large number of venomous cobra snakes in Delhi. So the British officials created a bounty for cobra skins. They thought by asking for dead cobras with a reward, the public would solve the snake overpopulation problem. But instead of capturing feral cobras the enterprising Delhiites started breeding cobras. When this came to the notice of the British government they scrapped the bounty scheme. In response the cobra breeders set all their snakes free. Delhi had a bigger cobra problem after the bounty ended than it had before it began.

The business world has not been free from ‘Cobra Effect’. Post-Independence the days of industrial licensing, the Indian government wanted to fix both the maximum production of Bajaj Auto scooters in a year and their maximum price. It failed to do both. Limiting production well below actual demand caused a black market to emerge. The lucky allotters would simply sell their allotment letters at several times the maximum price allowed by the government. Take another instance when the Indian government initiated lowering and capping the price of stents used in heart surgery a few years back. Soon after the price controls were announced, some manufacturers announced their intention to withdraw their stents from the market. This only led to stents becoming more expensive. We live in a highly connected world where legislative/management/individual Ask bring along actions that have multiple outcomes. When action is taken, the intended outcome might occur but a number of unexpected outcomes will always occur.

The ‘Cobra Effect’ has its presence in every sphere. An inventor’s good intention of using AI alone does not necessarily translate into desirable use and results. Human’s scientific pursuit with inventions and innovations is resulting in an unnoticed widening gap between intelligence and intellect. Abuse of technology by a common man or nations is increasing the presence of Cobra Effect. Let’s just take simple examples; the easy access to net surfing; porn sites are rated as top visits. Cyber-crimes are on increase globally. What pride can we really take upon technological superiority in arms and ammunitions? It is equally available and in use by minds & hands other than law enforcing authority’s world over and used for mass destructions.

The human scientific ASK needs to tread with caution because the intelligence in machines is growing at faster space but the intellect of the human is not keeping pace. In our continuing post we peek into how the world’s top scientific & technocrat community is pursuing intelligence and planning to compete with Mythological Gods in coming decades.

When we know intellect distinguishes between the possible and the impossible, reasons and distinguishes between the sensible and the senseless. Even the possible can be senseless.

We need to develop our intellect and in the people we can Ask and also attempt learning our Ask with our Creator to keep our sanity.

To be continued