Dr. Balázs Bodó, researcher at the Institute of Information Law at the University of Amsterdam, describes 3 dimensions of “technology-mediated trust”. The known and unknown risks of new technologies, how we interact with these technologies, and whether they are trustworthy. Global institutions – moving at a slow pace – have failed to establish trust that they are capable of handling worldwide challenges like climate change, mass human displacement, and global pandemics, or other forms of crises. This lack of international leadership leads to a trust crisis. The emergency of new technology platforms – or “trust mediators”- facilitate coordination and establish trust between strangers through various methods. Platforms, such as Uber, or Airbnb manage reputations; blockchain technologies try to minimize the need for trust; AI systems promise to reduce future uncertainties. Balázs touches on the relationship between risks and trust and the “costs of trust”. He contrasts technologies where trust was verifiable, such as the workings of nuclear reactors, and digital technologies where it is much more difficult to establish their trustworthiness. Unlike global organizations and governments, technological trust mediators may be able to establish trust among users, but we must think about how they can do it in a verifiable and trustworthy manner.

For the transcript of the interview, go to “Home” on the first page of this website and select the post with the interview with Balázs ) “Mediated trust: A theoretical framework to address the trustworthiness of technological trust mediators“)

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