Gillian Tett: Whom Do We Trust? How AI Is (Re)Shaping Our Interactions Today

We are often told that trust is dead, or dying today. That is wrong. Certainly, trust in authority figures and institutions has crumbled in recent years. However, trust in our peer groups, expressed via digital networks, is often surprisingly strong — at least when you look at this as a cultural anthropologist, i.e., explore how people actually behave, not what they say. Moreover, the rise of AI is reinforcing this migration of trust, creating what might be called Trust 4.0. This will sound scary to some, and it does pose big dangers, but also advantages. In this lecture, journalist Gillian Tett will explore the potential pitfalls in this new landscape of trust, as well as the reasons to hope that the rise of AI might deliver unexpected benefits too. Indeed, experiments are already underway to test how AI might (sometimes) be a force for good.

Gillian Tett is a columnist and member of the editorial board for the Financial Times. She writes a weekly column on Friday, covering a range of economic, financial, political and social issues. She also serves as Provost of King’s College, Cambridge.

The 2025 Santa Fe Institute Community Lecture Series is free to attend thanks to generous sponsorship by the McKinnon Family Foundation, with additional support from the Santa Fe Reporter, and the Lensic Performing Arts Center.