Historically, we trusted technology for its capability—its competence and reliability to *do* a task. Generative AI forces a shift, as we now trust it to *decide* and *create*. This requires us to evaluate its character, including human-like qualities such as integrity, empathy, and humility, fundamentally changing how we design and interact with tech.

As AI-generated content and virtual influencers saturate social media, consumer trust will erode, leading to 'Peak Social.' This wave of distrust will drive people away from anonymous influencers and back towards known entities and credible experts with genuine authority in their fields.

Unlike previous tech waves that trickled down from large institutions, AI adoption is inverted. Individuals are the fastest adopters, followed by small businesses, with large corporations and governments lagging. This reverses the traditional power dynamic of technology access and creates new market opportunities.

When civil war made the government an unsuitable partner, an NGO successfully pivoted by collaborating with the church—the community's new trusted institution. In a tech disruption, companies must similarly identify and partner with new entities that hold customer trust.

As AI makes digital content increasingly artificial and indistinguishable from reality, the value of authentic, in-person human connection will skyrocket. The most powerful counter-position to the AI trend isn't less technology, but rather using technology to facilitate more tangible, "real" world interactions.

Wikipedia was initially dismissed by academia as unreliable. Over 15 years, its decentralized, community-driven model built immense trust, making it a universally accepted source of truth. This journey from skepticism to indispensability may serve as a blueprint for how society ultimately embraces and integrates artificial intelligence.

Platforms designed for frictionless speed prevent users from taking a "trust pause"—a moment to critically assess if a person, product, or piece of information is worthy of trust. By removing this reflective step in the name of efficiency, technology accelerates poor decision-making and makes users more vulnerable to misinformation.

As AI floods the internet with generic content, consumers are growing skeptical of corporate voices. This is accelerating a shift in trust from faceless brands to authentic individuals and creators. B2B marketing must adapt by building strategies around these human-led channels, which now often outperform traditional brand-led marketing.

Dr. Fei-Fei Li asserts that trust in the AI age remains a fundamentally human responsibility that operates on individual, community, and societal levels. It's not a technical feature to be coded but a social norm to be established. Entrepreneurs must build products and companies where human agency is the source of trust from day one.