
Trust in the Digital Age: Why It Matters Now More Than Ever
Setup
Trust is fundamental to almost every action, relationship, and transaction in society, but we live in an era when technology is rapidly changing who and how we trust. The trust we used to place in traditional institutions such as governments, banks, media, and charities has hit an all-time low, and trust now flows horizontally through systems and networks that are as likely to be populated by programs and bots as by our fellow human beings. Rachel Botsman, author of Who Can You Trust?, will discuss the impacts of technology on trust — which society needs to survive and thrive, and needs now more than ever.
- 2018 Festival
- Technology
- Society
Think of trust as a process, not an attribute
Rachel Botsman, visiting academic at Oxford University, thinks it’s strange when organizations say they want to rebuild trust after a crisis. Why? Because trust is given to someone after they’ve proven themselves trustworthy. For Botsman, trust requires a continual process of proving trustworthiness. It’s not an attribute that one can assign to themselves without first having earned it.
Big IdeaIn order for trust to become an asset, in order for trust to be an attribute, it works as a continual process.Rachel Botsman
How is trust like energy?
Transparency ≠ trust
If trust is, as Botsman defines it, a confident relationship to the unknown, then why is society so obsessed with transparency? Transparency and trust are often seen as symbiotic traits, but Botsman thinks we should think of them exactly the opposite. Transparency becomes important when there is a lack of trust, not an excess of it. If we as a society truly trusted Facebook, for example, no one would be calling for an increase in transparency around user consent and data sharing. Instead, according to Bostman, we would inherently trust Facebook with our data.
How big is the problem?
Is tech moving too fast for trust to keep up?
Tech is moving at such a breakneck pace that it’s nearly impossible to keep up with discussions about what’s appropriate and desirable — in relation to both society and our daily lives. Listen as Botsman makes the case for slowing down in response to rapid advancement:
Learn More
Additional Information
Explore More
Technology


Artificial intelligence is making world-changing advances every day. But these powerful tools can be used for malicious and nefarious purposes just as easily as they can be us...


A technological future where our brain waves could be monitored and our thoughts decoded and analyzed — sometimes against our will — is not as far away as we think. But our ex...

Finding ways to ground ourselves on a planet too often in turmoil can foster the resilience we need to function at our best. By maintaining close personal ties, learning new s...

Philosophers throughout history have debated what it means to live a good life, and it remains an ongoing and unresolved question. Deep personal relationships, fulfilling work...

You may have heard of Dry January and mocktails, but what is being "sober curious" really about? Sans Bar's Chris Marshall explains the growing movement and shares how he's b...


The United States is a more secular society than many, and the percentage of people who don’t identify with organized religion is rising. Some of the impacts from that shift m...

Whether expressed through systems that are easy to navigate, devices that are friendly to their users, and spaces that are pleasing to the eye, thoughtful design can break dow...

Setting audacious goals helps to redefine what is achievable in health, medicine, and science. As we deepen understanding of the human genome, unravel the mysteries of the bra...


About two decades ago, NPR host Mary Louise Kelly had her first child and went down the extremely common yet commonly daunting life path of balancing a demanding career with a...

Everyone has a story to tell – and sharing them reminds us of our common humanity. Few know this better than StoryCorps CEO Sandra Clark. Over the last 20 years, the organizat...

It's been a big year for Patagonia, as it celebrated a 50th anniversary and legally restructured to commit all profits to environmental causes. What can be learned from the co...


Artificial intelligence is clearly going to change our lives in multiple ways. But it’s not yet obvious exactly how, and what the impacts will be. We can predict that certain...

Advocates, healthcare providers, legislators, researchers, and venture capitalists are bringing the unique health needs of women to light – from vigorous policy debates on iss...


When Sal Khan created Khan Academy, he was trying to scale up the successful experiences he’d had tutoring his cousins one-on-one in math. He saw how effective it could be for...

Everywhere you look, there’s a headline about the power of artificial intelligence and how it will impact our lives in ways we have not yet imagined. From advancing medicine t...

How do we sustain growth in a volatile and rapidly changing economy? What’s the best way to foster productivity and fulfillment at work? How will A.I. change the job market? C...


Actor Rainn Wilson had his dream job on the hit TV show “The Office,” but was still being kept up at night by anxiety, depression, and life’s big unanswerable questions. He we...


The automotive industry is going through a time of profound transformation, facing internal and external pressure to electrify America’s fleet of personal vehicles. General Mo...

Lisa Damour is a clinical psychologist, author, and a senior advisor to the Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve University. We caught up with her about h...

Can technology bolster democracy? MIT’s Deb Roy thinks so.