hard-wired means "determined". So; "When things change, we are determined to play it safe" I don't know what you are reading, but this is pretty much what it means! I hope that explains it.

Thank you Adrian, your explanation helped me to understand the meaning of this word and also thank you for discussing with me whether Watson was being ironic or not at "Discussion". :)

'hard-wired' means 'pre-programmed' by the way our psychology works. The analogy is with computers, which are 'hard-wired' to work in a certain way, but can be programmed [using software] to follow various routines and procedures. Note the contrast between 'hard' wired [fixed, cannot be modified] and 'soft'ware [flexible, allows a variety of applications].