Rachel Botsman

Nominated for the Business Book Awards 'Embracing Change' category ----- If you can't trust those in charge, who can you trust? From government to business, banks to media, trust in institutions is at an all-time low. Widespread corruption, elitism and economic disparity have led to a worldwide upsurge of anti-establishment movements. But this isn't the age of distrust - far from it. In this revolutionary book, world-renowned trust expert Rachel Botsman reveals that we are at the tipping point of one of the biggest social transformations in human history. A new world order is emerging: we have lost faith in brands, leaders and systems, but millions of people every day rent their home to total strangers on AirBnB, exchange cryptocurrency online, or get in the car of an unknown Uber driver. This is the age of distributed trust; a paradigm shift driven by new technologies that are rewriting the rules of an all-too-human relationship. If we are to benefit from this radical transformation, it is vital that we understand the new mechanics of how trust is built, managed, lost and repaired. In Who Can You Trust?, Botsman provides a detailed map of this uncharted landscape - and explores what's next for humanity.

How Technology Brought Us Together – and Why It Could Drive Us Apart

Who Can You Trust?

Cassandra Tang

… why do people say they don’t trust bankers or politicians yet trust strangers to share a ride with them?

Trust is the chicken soup of social life.

Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate.

If life-determining algorithms are here to stay, and it certainly looks that way, we need to figure out how they can embrace the nuances, inconsistencies and contradictions inherent in human beings. We need to work out how they can reflect real life.

Who Can You Trust? quotes

Join the club