The AI Book

CHAPTER 46Trust in FinTech and AI: Some Introductory Reflections

By Reema Patel¹

¹Head of Public Engagement, Ada Lovelace Institute

Trust, many people have argued, is the “secret sauce” that underpins finance and banking. The 2008 financial crisis was amongst the many incidents which illustrated the centrality of credibility and trust to the effective and smooth operating of the financial services industry. One must not lose sight of the fact that finance and money itself can be understood as a “social technology” – for it to serve its proper function, it is trust that is central to its operation. However, famously, Onora O’Neill has critiqued a focus on trust alone, arguing that it is trustworthiness that we must be more focused on she says:

We should aim for more trust in trustworthy things but not in untrustworthy things…intelligently placed and intelligently refused trust should be the proper aim for society.

—Onora O’Neill

This argument has often been interpreted as a need for technology that is trustworthy. But in O’Neill’s infamous speech, “What we don’t understand about trust,” she later makes clear that trustworthiness is not a property that can be held by the “thing” – the technology – rather, it is something that is a property of the people and the organizations developing the technology. She says:

Trust is well placed if it’s directed to matters in which the other party is reliable, competent and honest – so, trustworthy. Can you trust the corner shop to sell ...