Why you may not be as ethical as you think | Michael Hood | TEDxUniversityofMississippi

You may not be as ethical as you think you are. Retired FBI agent Michael “Bret” Hood, who specialized in financial crimes investigations, spent decades putting people in jail for their unethical actions. Now, he wants to help people steer clear of the ethical traps that often go unnoticed. In his talk, Bret walks the audience through a series of ethical checks, then explores what causes people to deviate from their ethical baselines and how they can be more ethically aware.
Hood currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Corporate Governance and Ethics for the University of Virginia, a board member for the School of Accountancy at Southern Illinois University, and a faculty member for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@777kp]

It’s more unethical that actors don’t get residuals from streaming than it is to share your Netflix password

[@denzildk]

big difference between stealing physical things and having access to digital media, stealing food will leave the resturant with less food, sharing a netflix account will get you a copy of their movies. Also the wallet vs. loose bills, wtf am i going to do to find the owner of loose bills, if nobody's arround there's nothing to do, and anyone can claim it's theirs with no way to prove it... if nobody's chasing the money then too bad so sad i got lucky and i'm keeping them. if i instead found a loose wallet with that money in it i could at least look in it for some identification, or hand it in somewhere and someone could claim it because they could recognise the wallet... Sure this dude might have been succesfull in the FBI, but he's doing a lot of boomer logic here.

[@DaedricDrak]

I learned a whole lot of nothing from F.B.I agent talk...pretty much disregards ANY sort of nuance? I very much agree to with op points. All in all l conclude F.B.I agent makes it crystal clear to simply agree with him and don't worry about any nuance....??

[@alltheusernameswastaken8936]

Stealing digital media when you could have paid for it affects the company finances. Retirement funds own netflix in efts. you are stealing from your neighbor.

[@nbonasoro]

Thank you for your comment, I was thinking the same thing

[@echodelta9336]

Totally agree. It is also possible to share an account outside of your family and another family member of your friend (you’re sharing the account with) might still have it‘s own account with free family member space. So then one would only not comply with the company‘s guidlines. Even if it would be stealing money, it would be 1 person stealing 15 USD vs. in the restaurant in Zurich it would be at least 35 USD for a medium quality lunch with medium service. I get the point that he‘s trying to make but the examples are weak.

[@777kp]

Not to mention the entire reason the Hollywood strikes are happening is because of lack of streaming residuals for the existing digital content. The restaurant example would equate to you eating food that is still good, but technically expired (daily shelf life for sandwiches etc) & not having to pay for it Bc it was going to be discarded anyway - or worse - eating food that’s already been paid for & consumed several times. The real moral dilemma are the regulations & laws that allow food to be tossed but not given to the homeless etc.

[@nathanmeyers8532]

This guy is so early 21st century with his simple moral analysis

[@thechaoticdesi]

Something being a crime doesn't make it unethical or immoral. This has so much bias in it.

[@CharliePON]

Nope it just makes it illegal

[@gutterpunkbobby]

I came down here to say the same dang thing. Here here!

[@andrewkline]

Thanks for saving me the time! Fully agree

[@thechaoticdesi]

@@CharliePON one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws -mlk

[@CharliePON]

@@thechaoticdesi Word on that sht

[@jesse_cole]

Dine and dash isn't a good analogy with Netflix passwords. The owners of the restaurant have to front extra food costs if they cook you a dish that doesn't get paid for. The price of an extra Netflix password, however, is ZERO, not only because that it's a mere authorization on a computer server (a 1 instead of a zero), but for the fact that the person you loaned it to _probably wasn't going to buy a Netflix account otherwise._ The only other possible outcome was that Netflix still didn't get paid, but the password borrower watched fewer TV shows. These stakes are not the same.

[@edwin5419]

The psychology the guy revealed about himself was far more interesting than his conclusions.

[@someguy9204]

Anyone else notice his switcheroo three minutes into the talk? He starts off talking about morality or being ethical, then subtly shifts it to illegality. Just because something is illegal doesn't make it immoral and vice versa.

[@Nairozet]

if i compare netflix to the restaurant, i see it as it is described. Sharing vs stealing. Now, if you said, you order food for yourself and share it with someone else and pay for it. Then it's exactly the same in my book. If i were to be really efficient with my netflix account, i'd subscribe for a month every 3-6 months. So with me sharing, would that still be stealing or paying for a service i don't more than 50% of the time?

[@honor9lite1337]

Uncomplicate life by doing what's most efficient and useful without breaking any law.

[@JOKEMMM]

More like going to an all you can eat restaurant, paying for 1 and then invite some friends

[@Nairozet]

@@JOKEMMM That's more like how he explained it.

[@RikodiusRex]

@@honor9lite1337 yeah, his argument is a fallacy. I believe sharing is ethical paying for something you're not using then sharing with somebody who doesn't have the same things as you that's ethical. what's not ethical is that Netflix doesn't allow you to do so when so many people have to choose their own families these days. Dine and dashing means stealing. Point blank. It's not the same thing as going in and ordering your food paying for it and then inviting someone else who can't afford to eat and letting them finish your food.

[@auturgicflosculator2183]

He sounds wealthy, somewhat neurotypical, and then exceedingly psychopathic as he gets going. What a creepy person.

[@tylercowans9360]

Him not seeing the difference between this stuff is not cognitive dissonance… it’s him displaying play chops this tendencies

[@GUMMRUCHK]

The only thing you should do with an FBI agent is get away from them before they try to frame you for a crime.

[@conormurphy4328]

Remember the FBI agent that did a backflip at a party and shot someone in the foot

[@raynarks]

If you compare Netflix with a family run restaurant then you don't understand ethics. The 1st isn't stuff, the 2nd is stuff that cost the owners money.

[@OorieLynch]

There are nuances between the sharing of subscriptions and dine-dashing. People view the service providers (especially ones that handles production) as people who are well off because media often gives a big number on their budget and since the service is still running so they think that they are entitled to share (kind of like watching TV together) while most restaurant not being a franchise, might be struggling due to you constantly reading or hearing about famine. Then the part about some money blowing in the wind and you pockets it is kinda weird because you don't even have the means to return it to anyone.

[@Ninja9JKD]

@3:30 false analogy. First off letting someone use your Netflix cost netflix almost nothing, especially because its a large company. Dine and dash at a local restaurant costs the ownwe promotionally far more than it cost yo stream pre recorded videos. The local restaurant just lost their pay for an hout of labor, what does it cost the Netflix company? A few pennies divided by a market cap of a billion some vs marketcap of few hundred thousand.

[@Boogey_M4N]

From the moment the speaker asks to rate from 1-10, I rated myself 4.. 😎 ..

[@mimosveta]

as I rated my self as a 5 from the getgo, and he's not proving anything, he's just trying to guilt trip his audience. I think everyone should be allowed to eat, to me that's a human right, so I can't possibly judge someone who dines and dashes. so, he said "you have money to pay", yeah, but why should one be forced to pay, if we've already agreed that someone else has the right to dine and dash. saying that dine and dash is unethical, is unethical. he'd rather have ppl starve to death and suffer because he doesn't think this could ever happen to him, he has the money to pay for the meal, and he's brainwashed to believe in money, so he judges everyone else

[@alltheusernameswastaken8936]

whoosh

[@dundy96]

I've never seen a talk on "ethics" universally agreed on as terrible.

[@Stephan__ox.]

The higher you are in authority the more likely you are morally compromised. Sooooo many things are a scale in morality in this human life 😢

[@tehdii]

Its all about the scale. Milions of people did not buy a single movie or cd durning their lifetime and movies/studios make obscenely amount of money. The scale is important when we value a behaviour. Studios would send to jail mother with her child to the prison for not paying for the movie... It will not send Epstein for "making" those mothers in the first place... And asking american public of a certain position about money crime is like asking birds about the stolen corn - by someone else ;)

[@celestialcircledance]

In the case of the wallet I would return all the money because it can afford to but if I were poor and hungry and destitute I'm sure need could very well trump morality. In the case of the wallet versus the loose money ,it's not just psychological distancing that would make me turn in the wallet and pocket the loose money , but the fact that the wallet can be a more easily identifiable item and the owner of the wallet would therefore be more likely to seek out a police station to inquire if it was turned in. In the case of going over the speed limit I think the level of severity would depend how much over the speed limit and how many other cars are on the road at the time that could be directly impacted I rated myself a five and not a seven

[@mikevars8979]

Taught by a former FBI agent 🤣🤣🤣. Pardon me if I just go over to the dark side now.

[@QANews]

_Why the FBI has no ethics?_

[@BellaBarnes616]

I think he means about the Netflix analogy is that if everyone shares they’re account, the workers get payed less cause everyone is watching from one account.

[@Richmode1000]

Netflix agent spoted...its sharing not stealing.i can share my food , password any thing i want .

[@fatesrival563]

Lol. What this test tells me is that capitalism is not ethical, but people who share are.

[@anon123214]

Pretty obvious. Capitalist practices are based on the unethical abuse of workers in other countries. It's something most people care not to look at, because we all benefit from it.

[@anon123214]

Also his analogy at 3:20 is disingenuous. It isn't 'you aren't paying for your food's, it's 'someone else is paying for your food in a buffet.'.

[@teeve1500]

How absolutely awsome. Pinto was great example of people`s hypocracy.

[@Bankai90]

Bro is legit a psychopath 😂. Great communication skills tho

[@mynameisben123]

I think this is a flawed presentation. I think that it’s trying to say that everything he goes through should be 10/10 on the unethical scale. But I don’t think that’s right. Two things can both be categorically “unethical” but one can be more unethical than another. This kind of makes it out like once something is considered unethical it needs to be rated at 10/10 unethical, but that’s just wrong IMO. To paraphrase I think someone with perfect ethics would rate these things at relatively different positions on the scale.

[@sylmarie6494]

For the most part, speed limits are put in place for governments to increase taxation via tickets.

[@_xancurse_12]

Not really. I can see a reason for speed limits. It protects the people and lowers the risk of car accidents. Speed limits are very ethical. You don't wanna drive 50 in a school zone where kids are crossing the street? Or a neighborhood where people are out walking.

[@ninjadudeofficial]

@@_xancurse_12 Sure in theory, but in a lot of the western world (mostly north America) those limits would be better enforced by a change in urban planning and road design. If you reduce the speed limit but don't change a road's design/layout that had previously been built for a higher speed (as many were) then can you seriously expect to drive slower when driving faster feels so natural? Start properly linking speed limit and how the road feels to drive and then I'll agree because in reality yeah speeding is really dangerous. Which is why it should be made difficult or impossible as often as it can be.

[@atenas80525]

I agree, he is espousing a basic level of ethics Ethics requires a known, established code - religion, great philosophers, professional code, something, something greater than oneself But, we live in a society that says, "it is all about me" Pinto - he confused ethics with emotions and actual risk versus perceived risk. Would he let his child drive a safer car only at 2 am? What is the real risk?

[@brethood7095]

Thank you for the views and the comments.

[@sycofya1677]

He work for Netflix lol

[@JOKEMMM]

Sharing a Netflix password is more like going to an 'all you can eat restaurant' and paying for 1 person but coming with 5. Bad comparison 3/10

[@Honeybreee]

Not to mention that when you watch a movie from Netflix, they don't suddenly have one less movie for people to watch. It's able to be copied infinitely, for basically free. When you eat at a restaurant they now have one less meal with ingredients they have to pay for.

[@Maggiela_sauvage]

Nobody show this to Chidi.

[@Davebd]

Ah I knew you weren't a soup!

[@fckyafeelingz4064]

In my opinion, 1. The hypothetical scenarios used to establish the proper mode of ethical behavior are grossly oversimplified. 2. Does anyone suspect the Chinese Communist Party received the same lecture? 3. Isn't there a selection bias due to his training because of his profession... but uses basic examples in Psychology 101 to solidify his point? 4. Hmm... maybe I'm just feeling sassy due to the assumed premises of each ethical scenario... idk this talk uses examples im aware of but this is strange and somehow off to me.

[@edwin5419]

He's wrong with his examples. For example, the money thing - unidentifiable currency blowing in a car park, with no one looking for it, it's legal at least here in Australia to take it. It's not morally wrong, nor is it legally wrong. To suggest otherwise belies his bias and incorrect thinking.

[@jordonlongley6576]

If you pay for something, you can do what you want with that thing. Netflix doesn’t have to do business with those who share their passwords, but they do anyway. That’s their own fault. How’s that for accountability?

[@the_dungeoneer]

I'm so glad the majority of the commenters agree morality does not mean the same as legality, and most of these scenarios were far too nuanced to be able to make a moral verdict. Did not enjoy this one. Whereas, the FBI guy who speaks about body language is absolutely fascinating, think I saw him on Ted.

[@Jackmerius_Tacktheritrix5733]

You failed to convince me

[@PoliticsReposit]

A lot of people do not seem to realize sharing Netflix account as a break of contracted terms and condition is a kind of lie and thus is worth consider morally. May be not equal to food in value and absolute terms but it is the same categorically in a sense.

[@Shigellosis]

I'd like to ask this guy where he gets his objective moral standards from

[@josephrojas9097]

Lost me at equivocating sharing a password to grants access to entertainment with robbing a restaurant. I know that was literally the first comparison, but it was a horrible one. Tell me you’re a corporate capitalist bootlicker without saying it 🙄

[@WisdomFolly]

If anything it is more unethical to steal from Netflix (clearly not a necessity) than food (which is). While I would not justify either, I would be more understanding about the motivation of someone hungry rather someone merely looking to be entertained.

[@MS-ns4ki]

My ex is a criminal and he owes me a lot of money and I would like this now

[@wearetemporary]

What… no grade inflation?

[@chrisdarcy7557]

Very bias, poor comparison with Netflix and a local restaurant. One is paid for, one is not. The stealing is more so on the third party

[@inflateopassion]

This is all manure ! The fact is all industry passes on the losses to innocent people Without due process you pay for others stealing, So you are do to get some back, its break even It is not right but this is not a perfect world.

[@as.211]

That was a good opportunity to bring up the fact that most of us are against animal cruelty and yet choose to pay for products that cause suffering to trillions of animals per year for fleeting minutes of sensory pleasure that you can get from plant based meals 18:40

[@ghazalehnavabi5176]

😊

[@user-wp8yx]

This guy is making the fbi look bad.

[@user-fx3uz7ck5v]

Sure, that's why their conviction rate hovers around 97%.

[@tembisawilliams7176]

Wow👏

[@nathanmeyers8532]

No action is bad or good. Its always dependent on reaction, and consequence, Robin hood equalization, and personal ignorance. Everything is Amoral

[@johndelagarza361]

Copyright infringement isnt theft, its a civil matter.

[@EmilTheoneandonly]

Very well done

[@Aakash_jain15]

7 what it speaks

[@redkagaseo4489]

Unethical conduct is actually the conduct of destruction and fear; lies are told because one is afraid of the consequences should one tell the truth; thus, the liar is inevitably a coward, the coward is inevitably a liar. -L. Ron Hubbard

[@raj-et2hw]

Not the first comment

[@SmaranTheMemoriesOfRajesh]

He is great 👍, isn't he?

[@randibeal8591]

this was awesome!!! thank you sir!

[@josephAlmond-nb3xm]

How is such profoundly pure truth still allowed on this platform? Frightening.

[@anandmalkari1158]

A guy after eating in a restaurent came to pay bill of Rs. 200 at billing counter . He asked the guy sitting at billing counter to return 300 Rupees. The guy at billing counter was shocked. He said you haven't given money yet. Which Rupees are you asking me to return ?? The quarrel errupted. Everyone who gathered there got confused. After some time, one more customer shouted at the restaurant manager , Hey man, you forgot his five hundred rupees. But do not forget my 2000 Rs note that I gave in advance..😄

[@buddyogun2247]

This is the worst joke ive ever heard.

[@StasiSLG]

be as ethical - fascist statement