Who Can You Trust? by Rachel Botsman

I recently finished Who Can You Trust? How Technology brought us together and why it could drive us apart, by Rachel Botsman (published in 2017), and while it wasn’t exactly what I expected, I’d still say it’s a worthwhile read. One of the things that stayed with me was this observation by Botsman: 
“When we look back in history, we can see that trust falls into distinct chapters. The first was local. The second was institutional and the third, still very much in its infancy, is distributed.” What I appreciated most was the tangible examples she uses to show how trust has changed over time: from trusting people we know, to trusting institutions, to now placing trust in systems, platforms, and increasingly, technology.

A few other things also stood out for me:

• Her exploration of ethical AI. Researchers trying to build “ethical” machines have had to first map how humans make moral decisions (which, as one can imagine is far from straightforward!). It raised an intresting/ slightly uncomfortable question: if we struggle to explain our own ethics, what exactly are we teaching machines to replicate?

• The chapter around China’s Social Credit System. Reading it felt like an episode of Black Mirror (which she actually refers to). It was never fully implemented apparently (I’m not sure about this) but it’s a good reminder that even the most ambitious systems of “engineered trust” have limits, both technically and socially (and ethically!!). Definitely thought a lot about whether or not I would be comfortable with such a system. 

• Her explanation of blockchain. I’d never fully understood it before, and this book helped clarify what sits underneath it. This line stayed with me:

  “The internet transformed how we share information and connect; blockchain will transform how we exchange value and whom we can trust.”

  What’s interesting is that even in systems designed to remove the need for trust, trust doesn’t disappear, it just shifts.

Where I felt something was missing, though, was in the conclusion.

There’s a strong emphasis on how organisations and systems can rebuild trust; through transparency, accountability, better design. But I kept wondering about the other side of that equation: us.

• Do we need to revisit our own standards of trust?

• Can we still rely on the instincts and assumptions we’ve inherited, or are they no longer fit for the world we’re in?

• And should we be more deliberate about why we trust, not just who?

It made me think that rebuilding trust isn’t only a systems problem. It might also be a personal one.