AI has a trust problem.

Hello, and welcome to Future Solving, my newsletter for leaders and managers navigating what it means to lead in the era of AI.

Today, I'm going to write about Trust and AI.

It's been well established that roughly 87% of AI projects fail.

It's also been well established that AI promises a new era of economic growth.

So what's the problem?

Is it a technology, business, culture, or industry problem?

According to research released by Salesforce last week, it's a trust problem.

And the news that broke yesterday about OpenAI using Scarlett Johansson's voice after she said no is a great example of this.

Trust is more than a moral problem.

Some people think of trust as an exclusively moral concept.

When you ask them about "trust in AI," they discuss ethics, transparency, representation, and bias.

Others think of trust as a safety concept: security, privacy, and control.

Still others think of trust as a value concept: accuracy and usefulness.

What struck me about the research is that:

• 65% of global C-suite say trust in AI plays a role in driving revenue.
• Around 80% of global C-suite respondents cite accurate and secure data as the most critical elements for building trust in AI in their organization.
• 75% of workers who don't trust the data that trains AI also believe that AI lacks the information needed to be useful.

Hot take: Trust is about morals, safety, and value.

If an AI system exhibits bias, it can't be trusted morally or for your brand.

If an AI system doesn't keep your data secure, it can't be trusted legally or for maintaining customer retention.

If an AI system is inaccurate, it can't be trusted with business processes.

If an AI system can't be controlled, it can't be trusted with anything.

And there's another angle to this:

How trustworthy is the organization that created the AI system? (e.g. OpenAI using Scarlett Johansson's voice after she said no)

If it's been developed by a new company, what happens to your data if that company goes under or is acquired?

If it's been developed by an established company, do you trust that company to keep your data private?

Read the full research article that inspired this newsletter episode here.

I'm researching and developing a new, practical tool for navigating trust in the era of AI, and I would love your feedback—do you agree with this analysis?

Anything you would add?

Thanks for reading,

Brian

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