Please provide a response for both scenarios:

1) You use an ATM machine outside your local bank and it gives you an extra 20 bucks. The receipt shows it gave you only the amount you requested for withdrawal. What do you do?

2) A human teller makes a similar mistake as described above. You don't notice the extra $20 until you're in your car. Again, what do you do?

 

1) If it were an ATM?  I would take the money and leave.  Machines are made to always be right - 99% of computer errors are supposed to be human errors, right?  If i get an extra $20 from a bill, that’s luck.

 

2) A human teller - If this were a human teller, I would go back into the bank and tell them that they had given me extra cash.  A teller’s cash is probably counted, so any errors in the final amount for the day would be withdrawn from their paycheck - essentially, I would be stealing from them.  An ATM cannot have money taken from it’s paycheck.

 

It is funny to note how the responses are different (from me at least) for human and non-humans in this scenario.  I guess it’s just a sign that while services like credit cards and ATM machines may make day to day life easier, and while technology may be becoming “transparent” in our society, we will never regard machines as we regard humans - at least, not for a long time :)