AI's trust problem: Richard Edelman on the risk to the tech industry
GeekWire
GeekWire
4.4 • 116 Ratings
🗓️ 6 March 2024
⏱️ 17 minutes
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Summary
A new report points to a crisis of trust in innovation, and the risk that rapid technological change — especially in the field of artificial intelligence — will fuel increased populism and polarization across societies.
Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, discussed these and other findings from the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer during visits last week with the global communications firm's clients in tech-heavy Seattle and San Francisco. GeekWire sat down with Edelman during his visit to the firm's downtown Seattle office for this episode of the GeekWire Podcast.
- He discusses the shift in trust from top-down authority figures to local relationships, with employees and consumers expecting companies to take a stand on important issues.
- Edelman suggests that businesses and technology leaders need to focus on implementation, adaptation, and acceptance of innovation, and to be transparent and clear in their communication with the public.
- He calls for collaboration between businesses, government, NGOs, and media to ensure that innovation is well-managed and benefits society as a whole.
Related links
- Access the full 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer report.
- Edelman: 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer Reveals Innovation has Become a New Risk Factor for Trust
- Richard Edelman: Technology Industry Watch Out, Innovation at Risk
- Axios: Public trust in AI is sinking across the board
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The US is a really nervous place right now about AI. By 3 to 1 you see people going |
| 0:06.7 | it's not being well managed. The funny thing is that there's high trust in tech and low |
| 0:11.7 | trust in the innovations of tech. |
| 0:13.8 | So the gap between tech at 75 and AI globally at 50s, 25 points, |
| 0:20.8 | and it's bigger in the US. So I think implementation, adaptation, |
| 0:25.7 | acceptance is just as important as invention and we are not talking about |
| 0:30.4 | enough of how we're going to do this well. |
| 0:34.0 | A new report points to a growing crisis of trust in innovation and the risk for technological change to fuel increased |
| 0:44.5 | populism and polarization across societies. On this episode of the GeekWire |
| 0:49.0 | podcast we'll discuss what the 2024 Edelman Trust Verometer says about leaders ability to oversee |
| 0:54.5 | advances like AI and what business and technology leaders need to do in |
| 0:58.8 | response. I'm Geekwire co-founder Todd Bishop and my guest this week is none other than Richard Edelman, |
| 1:04.3 | CEO of the Edelman Global Communications firm on location here at the Edelman offices in Seattle. |
| 1:09.9 | Richard, thanks very much for joining me. |
| 1:11.6 | It's great to be here. |
| 1:12.5 | In fact, the reason that we have the trust barometer |
| 1:15.0 | is the battle in Seattle from 25 years ago. |
| 1:17.4 | You stole my first question. |
| 1:18.5 | Well, what can I tell you? |
| 1:19.5 | I mean, the reality is I saw the NGOs storming the meeting and I thought who are these |
| 1:26.6 | guys and we found out that they were the most trusted institution in the world |
| 1:30.5 | for 19 years ahead of government, business, and media. And then in |
... |
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