Don't get people to trust technology. Build Trustworthy technology instead.

Introduction

In the digital age, trust has become a buzzword, often touted as the cornerstone of our relationship with technology. However, this perspective overlooks a crucial distinction: the difference between being trusted and being trustworthy. This article argues that our focus should shift from cultivating trust to building truly trustworthy technology.

This reframe from trust to trustworthiness is not merely semantic; it represents a fundamental shift in how we approach technology development and user relationships. The importance of this paradigm shift cannot be overstated. In an era where data breaches, algorithmic biases, and ethical missteps by tech companies are increasingly common, simply asking users to trust technology is a tall order.

This approach puts the onus on users to extend trust, often without a full understanding of how their data is used or how decisions are made. By focusing instead on trustworthiness, we flip the script. We place the responsibility where it belongs: on the shoulders of organizations and developers to create systems that are inherently reliable, transparent, and ethically sound. This shift has far-reaching implications for privacy, security, user empowerment, and the overall health of our digital ecosystem. It moves us from a reactive stance of damage control when trust is broken to a proactive approach of building technology that is worthy of trust from the ground up. In fact, this framework changes all aspects of the technology development itself:

In a world where technology is increasingly integrated into every aspect of our lives, from healthcare to finance to social interactions, the need for trustworthy systems is not just preferable—it's imperative for the sustainable and ethical progression of our digital future.

The Anatomy of Trust

Trust is a concept that’s deceptively simple on the surface but becomes surprisingly complex upon closer examination. The nature of trust is deeply contested across disciplines—ranging from psychology to philosophy to engineering—and each offers a different take on what trust truly entails. Understanding how people trust one another can provide crucial insights into why trustworthiness is more critical than simply being trusted. Trust between people typically arises from a combination of factors such as predictability, competence, and benevolence:

• Predictability: At the core of trust is predictability. When we trust someone, we expect them to behave in a consistent and predictable manner. This predictability is built over time through repeated interactions where the other party behaves as expected. Research in psychology emphasizes that predictability is crucial for the development of trust because it reduces uncertainty and makes social interactions smoother. Predictability in behavior is a key component of trust in interpersonal relationships, as it allows individuals to form expectations about others' actions and reduces anxiety in social interactions​. Think about it: if someone isn’t stable and predictable… nothing they do can really be trusted, no matter how sweet or charming they are in the moment.

• Competence: Trust is also grounded in the belief that the trusted entity is competent. We trust people who we believe have the skills and knowledge to perform a task effectively. This is why trust increases when we perceive the other party as capable and knowledgeable in their domain. Competence is particularly important in professional settings, where trust in colleagues and leaders often depends on their ability to deliver results and make informed decisions.

• Benevolence: Another critical component of trust is benevolence, or the belief that the other party has our best interests at heart. Benevolence is often associated with the emotional aspect of trust, where the trusted party is expected to care for the trustor’s well-being. It’s no surprise that trust is more likely to develop when the trusted party demonstrates a concern for the trustor’s welfare, beyond mere self-interest.

Extension to Technology

Trusting technology is both similar to and distinct from trusting humans. At the core, trust in both realms hinges on predictability, competence, benevolence, and integrity. However, while these principles apply to both human and technological trust, the context and implications differ significantly.

Regarding competency and predictability, trusting technology involves relying on a system or tool to perform consistently and effectively, often without the emotional or social considerations present in human relationships. So, trust in ineffective technology won’t likely be buoyed by feelings of “liking” something. Technology that does not have emotions, intentions, or a moral compass—it operates based on programming, algorithms, and design.

The benevolence of those behind the technology, however, is where many companies struggle. In human relationships, we use moral decisions as a key heuristic for trust—believing that people we trust have our best interests in mind. And when we can’t account for their history, we often just use similarity as a crude proxy. (Morality is so important for our identities that some argue the disruption to morality in those with Alzheimer’s is more devastating to family members than when someone they love loses even their own memories). This ability to perceive moral alignment is crucial in forming trust. With technology, the challenge is different: we have to infer the benevolence of its creators from the design, transparency, and ethical principles embedded in the system. We can't rely on emotional cues or moral reasoning from the technology itself. People probably don’t distrust Facebook’s competency or predictability as a technology platform. They distrust the intentions of Mark Zuckerburg.

The key difference lies here: when we trust people, we often base it on a sense of shared values or morality. When we trust technology, we are really judging the intentions of the designers. In both cases, however, the responsibility lies in the hands of the creators to ensure that trust—whether in competence or benevolence—is earned through transparency, ethical design, and reliability. Whether it’s a lack of technical competency or questionable ethics, the responsibility falls on companies to fix these issues so users aren’t left questioning whether their interests are truly being served.

Some Quick Wins for Building More Trustworthy Technology

To build trustworthy tech, organizations need to take deliberate and strategic actions. Here are a few concrete steps we’d recommend to start building more trustworthy technology.

• Step 1: Put Together a Realistic Needs Assessment The first step in building trustworthy technology is to flesh out what trust means to your organization and why it matters. Begin by clearly defining what trustworthiness means for your organization. In what contexts does trust matter? Why does it matter? Are you interested in a very context-specific trust, such as a product’s usability, or about your company as a whole?What downstream behaviors of trust are important to you? This may include aspects such as data privacy, security, transparency, ethical AI usage, and user-centric design. Like any other good plan, it should have a set of measurable goals. Be ready to allocate the budget accordingly.

• Step 2: Engage end-users in holistic ways. Trustworthy technology should be designed with ethics and users at its core. This means not just considering the potential impacts of your technology on users and society but actually talking with those stakeholders and integrating them into the design implementation process. I’ve found qualitative feedback sessions are extremely effective for this. Ask your end users about their most profound positive and negative emotions: what makes you the most proud? The happiest? What makes you the most afraid? The most frustrated? Often, just asking these questions is enough to show users that you care—and your technology will be worlds better for it because you’re grounding your designs in the humans you intend to build trust with. Trying to create technology without doing so is like trying to draw a map of a place you’ve never actually been to. Don’t think your attempts at feigning concern are as convincing as they are — others aren’t nearly as impressionable to our designs as we think.

• Step 3: Monitor and Improve. Trust is something a lot of organizations evaluate in the moment. But trustworthiness is not a one-time achievement; it requires ongoing effort. To maintain and build upon the trust you’ve established, you must continuously monitor and improve your technology. Actively seek out and respond to user feedback. This can help you identify potential issues before they become major problems and demonstrate to users that you value their input. Likewise, conduct regular audits of your technology’s performance, security, and ethical compliance. Use the findings to make necessary improvements.

Conclusion

A lot of companies and organizations are too focused on getting people to trust technology rather than ensuring that technology is worthy of that trust. The difference isn’t just semantic; it’s the difference between a product that fails at the first sign of trouble and one that stands the test of time.

Trustworthy technology doesn’t just ask for your trust; it earns it—day after day, interaction after interaction. It’s a better investment, a more sustainable approach, and ultimately, it’s what will keep your users coming back.

So, let’s stop talking about trust like it’s some magic bullet. Trust is cheap. Trustworthiness? That’s what’s priceless. Build that, and you’re building for the future.

See you at the next one,

Pete