3 Examples of Technology Eroding Trust

Do you think America is a country with high social trust? I do. Although if you read the news obsessively, I can see how you wouldn’t so. However, one amazing thing Americans don’t know about their own society unless they visit other places: there is so much trust between Americans.

The only way I can really describe it is people tend to always assume the best when transacting with other individuals, businesses, government and institutions. And then if something bad happens they get angry. In other countries I’ve visited and lived in like France, Italy or Greece they assume the worst first; this person is trying to rip them off, the government is corrupt and the institutions cannot be trusted. If everything goes ok they feel relieved. A completely different mindset. If you know someone from a foreign country who lives in America, ask them about this and you’ll see what they say.

However, I’ve noticed social trust go down in recent years. I’m not alone, polls say 70% of Americans think people are less confident in each other than they were 20 years ago. I can see a general slow decline that started 40 years ago.

Off the top of my head:

• Leaving your doors unlocked. Now we lock our doors and put a Ring Cameras.

• The lack of nicknames in sports and society.

• Private Property posting on rural land

Since Covid there’s been a slight acceleration. I’ve seen more people run red lights during the past 2 years than I have in my entire life and general crime or misbehavior in cities.

But the baseline trust is still high. Think about tipping. Something that only happens in America at scale. Tipping is an amazing social trust institution in America. If you step back and think about it.

On Tipping

Europeans come over to the states and routinely under-tip or don’t tip. they say it’s “not in their culture” but probably feign ignorance to save money.

People think America is a low-trust society. But Americans tip. They don't have to. We can all just never tip again. It's not illegal. But we do. Americans tip a good amount. The entire restaurant industry relies on this optional gesture.

Tipping is not even held up by shame. No one knows how much you tip. You pay and leave. Completely private. With no repercussions. Sure, if you go back to the same restaurant every week someone may notice after months of leaving no tip. But people tip after eating at restaurants in tourist areas that they know they will never go back to ever again. There are thousands and thousands of restaurants in places like New York or Boston and anonymous people tip.

Tipping has even accelerated to almost every transaction, if you go for coffee or other smaller shops. It works. Still Americans tip.

Three Technologies That Erode Trust

There’s two types of technologies I’ve seen recently. The first increase trust between people. Think of Facebook marketplace, or Uber and AirBnb. It was a crazy idea to get in the back seat of someone’s personal car before Uber. Same with sleeping in someone else’s home.

The second replace trust. Think of the blockchain, smart contracts, bitcoin or various surveillance cameras. We do not need to trust another person, the process can be automatically verified.

Replacing trust is not a small thing. If I go to surgery, I have trust the surgeon went to medical school, passed his exams, passed his internship and was trained. The diploma isn’t just a piece of paper. Same thing with boarding a plane or buying food. Trust is this invisible dimension we all are relying on. Removing it may have odd consequences.

1) Paternity Tests

Logically, requesting a paternity test from your spouse to see if the child you had together is genetically yours shouldn’t be an issue. It’s a simple non-invasive test that clears up the issue. It’s not a small issue, one of the oldest insults that exists is “cuckold”.

As a man, I feel sympathetic to that idea. If you have nothing to do hide you shouldn't be opposed to the test. Even though it is a rare occurrence. This technology provides peace of mind to a very old problem. A couple of studies from Western Europe suggest that somewhere between 0.6 and 0.9 percent of men are unknowingly raising another man’s child. While this is still a lot of men, it is much less of a problem than many people thought. And according to another study, it turns out that the problem wasn’t much worse a few hundred years ago.

However, asking your wife or girlfriend who you trust for a paternity is scandalous. It implies a lack of trust in her and her fidelity. It can be seen as questioning her honesty and faithfulness in the relationship, which can be hurtful and insulting. Many women will consider leaving you. How can you have a relationship of trust with someone who thinks they would get you to raise another man’s child.

Forums online, that are filled with mostly men do not see why this should be a problem. In America, we allow lots of technology without much oversight. The positive is that this country is the innovator of the world. The downside is, we may not know what this technology is doing to inter-personal relationships. We have the ability to determine who’s parents the child belongs to. But should we? This verification could destabilize the entire relationship and end it. I am an American, so I personally want that freedom. But that doesn’t mean I can’t see the other side. Other countries have different ways to regulate technology.

France banned all personal non-court ordered paternity tests in a desire to "preserve the peace." It cited the reason that paternity testing can cause friction within families. Court issued, official paternity tests are not illegal though. Each year in the region of 1,500 tests are performed under strict legal circumstances by the orders of a judge.

Other commentators think they should be mandatory at birth. That way the husband does not have to ask and create a culture of mistrust in the relationship.

This technology was supposed to replace trust but it actually ruptures because we are humans and relationships are supported by trust.

2) The Algorithms

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