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Rachel Botsman: We've stopped trusting institutions and started trusting strangers
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Something profound is changing our concept of trust, says Rachel Botsman. While we used to place our trust in institutions like governments and banks, today we increasingly rely on others, often strangers, on platforms like Airbnb and Uber and through technologies like the blockchain. This new era of trust could bring with it a more transparent, inclusive and accountable society -- if we get it right. Who do you trust?
Rachel Botsman - Trust researcher
Rachel Botsman is a recognized expert on how collaboration and trust enabled by digital technologies will change the way we live, work, bank and consume. Full bio
Rachel Botsman is a recognized expert on how collaboration and trust enabled by digital technologies will change the way we live, work, bank and consume. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Let's talk about trust.
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We all know trust is fundamental,
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but when it comes to trusting people,
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something profound is happening.
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Please raise your hand
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if you have ever been
a host or a guest on Airbnb.
a host or a guest on Airbnb.
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Wow. That's a lot of you.
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Who owns Bitcoin?
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Still a lot of you. OK.
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And please raise your hand
if you've ever used Tinder
if you've ever used Tinder
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to help you find a mate.
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(Laughter)
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This one's really hard to count
because you're kind of going like this.
because you're kind of going like this.
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(Laughter)
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These are all examples of how technology
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is creating new mechanisms
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that are enabling us to trust
unknown people, companies and ideas.
unknown people, companies and ideas.
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And yet at the same time,
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trust in institutions --
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banks, governments and even churches --
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is collapsing.
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01:10
So what's happening here,
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and who do you trust?
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Let's start in France with a platform --
with a company, I should say --
with a company, I should say --
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with a rather funny-sounding name,
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BlaBlaCar.
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It's a platform that matches
drivers and passengers
drivers and passengers
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who want to share
long-distance journeys together.
long-distance journeys together.
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The average ride taken is 320 kilometers.
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So it's a good idea
to choose your fellow travelers wisely.
to choose your fellow travelers wisely.
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Social profiles and reviews
help people make a choice.
help people make a choice.
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You can see if someone's a smoker,
you can see what kind of music they like,
you can see what kind of music they like,
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you can see if they're going to bring
their dog along for the ride.
their dog along for the ride.
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But it turns out
that the key social identifier
that the key social identifier
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is how much you're going
to talk in the car.
to talk in the car.
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(Laughter)
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Bla, not a lot,
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bla bla, you want a nice bit of chitchat,
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and bla bla bla, you're not going
to stop talking the entire way
to stop talking the entire way
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from London to Paris.
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02:09
(Laughter)
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It's remarkable, right,
that this idea works at all,
that this idea works at all,
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because it's counter to the lesson
most of us were taught as a child:
most of us were taught as a child:
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never get in a car with a stranger.
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And yet, BlaBlaCar transports
more than four million people
more than four million people
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every single month.
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To put that in context,
that's more passengers
that's more passengers
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than the Eurostar
or JetBlue airlines carry.
or JetBlue airlines carry.
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BlaBlaCar is a beautiful illustration
of how technology is enabling
of how technology is enabling
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millions of people across the world
to take a trust leap.
to take a trust leap.
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A trust leap happens when we take the risk
to do something new or different
to do something new or different
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to the way that we've always done it.
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Let's try to visualize this together.
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OK. I want you to close your eyes.
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There is a man staring at me
with his eyes wide open.
with his eyes wide open.
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I'm on this big red circle. I can see.
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So close your eyes.
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(Laughter) (Applause)
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I'll do it with you.
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And I want you to imagine
there exists a gap
there exists a gap
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between you and something unknown.
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That unknown can be
someone you've just met.
someone you've just met.
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It can be a place you've never been to.
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It can be something
you've never tried before.
you've never tried before.
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You got it?
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OK. You can open your eyes now.
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For you to leap from a place of certainty,
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to take a chance on that someone
or something unknown,
or something unknown,
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you need a force to pull you over the gap,
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and that remarkable force is trust.
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Trust is an elusive concept,
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and yet we depend on it
for our lives to function.
for our lives to function.
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I trust my children
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when they say they're going
to turn the lights out at night.
to turn the lights out at night.
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I trusted the pilot
who flew me here to keep me safe.
who flew me here to keep me safe.
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It's a word we use a lot,
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without always thinking
about what it really means
about what it really means
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and how it works in different
contexts of our lives.
contexts of our lives.
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There are, in fact,
hundreds of definitions of trust,
hundreds of definitions of trust,
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and most can be reduced
to some kind of risk assessment
to some kind of risk assessment
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of how likely it is
that things will go right.
that things will go right.
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But I don't like this definition of trust,
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because it makes trust
sound rational and predictable,
sound rational and predictable,
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and it doesn't really get
to the human essence
to the human essence
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of what it enables us to do
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and how it empowers us
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to connect with other people.
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So I define trust a little differently.
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I define trust as a confident
relationship to the unknown.
relationship to the unknown.
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Now, when you view trust
through this lens,
through this lens,
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it starts to explain
why it has the unique capacity
why it has the unique capacity
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to enable us to cope with uncertainty,
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to place our faith in strangers,
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to keep moving forward.
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Human beings are remarkable
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at taking trust leaps.
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Do you remember the first time
you put your credit card details
you put your credit card details
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into a website?
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That's a trust leap.
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I distinctly remember telling my dad
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that I wanted to buy a navy blue
secondhand Peugeot on eBay,
secondhand Peugeot on eBay,
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and he rightfully pointed out
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that the seller's name
was "Invisible Wizard"
was "Invisible Wizard"
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and that this probably
was not such a good idea.
was not such a good idea.
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(Laughter)
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So my work, my research
focuses on how technology
focuses on how technology
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is transforming
the social glue of society,
the social glue of society,
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trust between people,
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and it's a fascinating area to study,
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because there's still
so much we do not know.
so much we do not know.
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For instance, do men and women
trust differently in digital environments?
trust differently in digital environments?
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Does the way we build trust
face-to-face translate online?
face-to-face translate online?
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Does trust transfer?
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So if you trust finding a mate on Tinder,
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are you more likely
to trust finding a ride on BlaBlaCar?
to trust finding a ride on BlaBlaCar?
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But from studying hundreds
of networks and marketplaces,
of networks and marketplaces,
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there is a common pattern
that people follow,
that people follow,
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and I call it "climbing the trust stack."
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Let me use BlaBlaCar
as an example to bring it to life.
as an example to bring it to life.
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On the first level,
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you have to trust the idea.
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So you have to trust
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the idea of ride-sharing
is safe and worth trying.
is safe and worth trying.
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The second level is about having
confidence in the platform,
confidence in the platform,
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that BlaBlaCar will help you
if something goes wrong.
if something goes wrong.
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And the third level is about
using little bits of information
using little bits of information
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to decide whether
the other person is trustworthy.
the other person is trustworthy.
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Now, the first time
we climb the trust stack,
we climb the trust stack,
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it feels weird, even risky,
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but we get to a point
where these ideas seem totally normal.
where these ideas seem totally normal.
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Our behaviors transform,
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often relatively quickly.
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In other words, trust enables
change and innovation.
change and innovation.
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So an idea that intrigued me,
and I'd like you to consider,
and I'd like you to consider,
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is whether we can better understand
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major ways of disruption and change
in individuals in society
in individuals in society
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through the lens of trust.
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Well, it turns out
that trust has only evolved
that trust has only evolved
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in three significant chapters
throughout the course of human history:
throughout the course of human history:
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local, institutional
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and what we're now entering, distributed.
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So for a long time,
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until the mid-1800s,
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trust was built
around tight-knit relationships.
around tight-knit relationships.
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So say I lived in a village
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with the first five rows of this audience,
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and we all knew one another,
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and say I wanted to borrow money.
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The man who had his eyes wide open,
he might lend it to me,
he might lend it to me,
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and if I didn't pay him back,
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you'd all know I was dodgy.
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I would get a bad reputation,
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and you would refuse
to do business with me in the future.
to do business with me in the future.
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Trust was mostly local
and accountability-based.
and accountability-based.
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In the mid-19th century,
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society went through
a tremendous amount of change.
a tremendous amount of change.
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People moved to fast-growing cities
such as London and San Francisco,
such as London and San Francisco,
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and a local banker here
was replaced by large corporations
was replaced by large corporations
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that didn't know us as individuals.
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We started to place our trust
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into black box systems of authority,
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things like legal contracts
and regulation and insurance,
and regulation and insurance,
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and less trust directly in other people.
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Trust became institutional
and commission-based.
and commission-based.
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It's widely talked about how trust
in institutions and many corporate brands
in institutions and many corporate brands
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has been steadily declining
and continues to do so.
and continues to do so.
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I am constantly stunned
by major breaches of trust:
by major breaches of trust:
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the News Corp phone hacking,
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the Volkswagen emissions scandal,
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the widespread abuse
in the Catholic Church,
in the Catholic Church,
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the fact that only one measly banker
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went to jail after the great
financial crisis,
financial crisis,
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or more recently the Panama Papers
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that revealed how the rich
can exploit offshore tax regimes.
can exploit offshore tax regimes.
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And the thing that really surprises me
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is why do leaders find it so hard
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to apologize, I mean sincerely apologize,
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when our trust is broken?
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It would be easy to conclude
that institutional trust isn't working
that institutional trust isn't working
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because we are fed up
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with the sheer audacity
of dishonest elites,
of dishonest elites,
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but what's happening now
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runs deeper than the rampant questioning
of the size and structure of institutions.
of the size and structure of institutions.
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We're starting to realize
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that institutional trust
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wasn't designed for the digital age.
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Conventions of how trust is built,
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managed, lost and repaired --
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in brands, leaders and entire systems --
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is being turned upside down.
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Now, this is exciting,
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but it's frightening,
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because it forces many of us
to have to rethink
to have to rethink
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how trust is built and destroyed
with our customers, with our employees,
with our customers, with our employees,
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even our loved ones.
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The other day, I was talking to the CEO
of a leading international hotel brand,
of a leading international hotel brand,
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and as is often the case,
we got onto the topic of Airbnb.
we got onto the topic of Airbnb.
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And he admitted to me
that he was perplexed by their success.
that he was perplexed by their success.
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He was perplexed at how a company
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that depends on the willingness
of strangers to trust one another
of strangers to trust one another
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could work so well across 191 countries.
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So I said to him
that I had a confession to make,
that I had a confession to make,
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and he looked at me a bit strangely,
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and I said --
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and I'm sure many of you
do this as well --
do this as well --
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I don't always bother to hang my towels up
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when I'm finished in the hotel,
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but I would never do this
as a guest on Airbnb.
as a guest on Airbnb.
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And the reason why I would never do this
as a guest on Airbnb
as a guest on Airbnb
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is because guests know
that they'll be rated by hosts,
that they'll be rated by hosts,
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and that those ratings
are likely to impact their ability
are likely to impact their ability
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to transact in the future.
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It's a simple illustration of how
online trust will change our behaviors
online trust will change our behaviors
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in the real world,
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make us more accountable
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in ways we cannot yet even imagine.
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I am not saying we do not need hotels
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or traditional forms of authority.
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But what we cannot deny
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is that the way trust
flows through society is changing,
flows through society is changing,
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and it's creating this big shift
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away from the 20th century
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that was defined by institutional trust
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towards the 21st century
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that will be fueled by distributed trust.
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Trust is no longer top-down.
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It's being unbundled and inverted.
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It's no longer opaque and linear.
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A new recipe for trust is emerging
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that once again
is distributed amongst people
is distributed amongst people
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and is accountability-based.
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And this shift is only going to accelerate
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with the emergence of the blockchain,
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the innovative ledger technology
underpinning Bitcoin.
underpinning Bitcoin.
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Now let's be honest,
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getting our heads around
the way blockchain works
the way blockchain works
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is mind-blowing.
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And one of the reasons why
is it involves processing
is it involves processing
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some pretty complicated concepts
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with terrible names.
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I mean, cryptographic algorithms
and hash functions,
and hash functions,
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and people called miners,
who verify transactions --
who verify transactions --
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all that was created
by this mysterious person
by this mysterious person
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or persons called Satoshi Nakamoto.
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Now, that is a massive trust leap
that hasn't happened yet.
that hasn't happened yet.
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(Applause)
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But let's try to imagine this.
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So "The Economist"
eloquently described the blockchain
eloquently described the blockchain
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as the great chain
of being sure about things.
of being sure about things.
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The easiest way I can describe it
is imagine the blocks as spreadsheets,
is imagine the blocks as spreadsheets,
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and they are filled with assets.
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So that could be a property title.
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It could be a stock trade.
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It could be a creative asset,
such as the rights to a song.
such as the rights to a song.
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Every time something moves
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from one place on the register
to somewhere else,
to somewhere else,
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that asset transfer is time-stamped
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and publicly recorded on the blockchain.
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It's that simple. Right.
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So the real implication of the blockchain
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is that it removes the need
for any kind of third party,
for any kind of third party,
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such as a lawyer,
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or a trusted intermediary,
or maybe not a government intermediary
or maybe not a government intermediary
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to facilitate the exchange.
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So if we go back to the trust stack,
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you still have to trust the idea,
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you have to trust the platform,
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but you don't have to trust
the other person
the other person
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in the traditional sense.
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The implications are huge.
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In the same way the internet blew open
the doors to an age of information
the doors to an age of information
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available to everyone,
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the blockchain will revolutionize
trust on a global scale.
trust on a global scale.
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Now, I've waited to the end
intentionally to mention Uber,
intentionally to mention Uber,
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because I recognize
that it is a contentious
that it is a contentious
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and widely overused example,
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but in the context of a new era of trust,
it's a great case study.
it's a great case study.
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Now, we will see cases of abuse
of distributed trust.
of distributed trust.
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We've already seen this,
and it can go horribly wrong.
and it can go horribly wrong.
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I am not surprised that we are seeing
protests from taxi associations
protests from taxi associations
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all around the world
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trying to get governments to ban Uber
based on claims that it is unsafe.
based on claims that it is unsafe.
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I happened to be in London
the day that these protests took place,
the day that these protests took place,
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and I happened to notice a tweet
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from Matt Hancock, who is
a British minister for business.
a British minister for business.
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And he wrote,
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"Does anyone have details of this
#Uber app everyone's talking about?
#Uber app everyone's talking about?
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(Laughter)
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I'd never heard of it until today."
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Now, the taxi associations,
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they legitimized the first layer
of the trust stack.
of the trust stack.
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They legitimized the idea
that they were trying to eliminate,
that they were trying to eliminate,
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and sign-ups increased
by 850 percent in 24 hours.
by 850 percent in 24 hours.
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Now, this is a really strong illustration
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of how once a trust shift has happened
around a behavior or an entire sector,
around a behavior or an entire sector,
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you cannot reverse the story.
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Every day, five million people
will take a trust leap
will take a trust leap
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and ride with Uber.
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In China, on Didi,
the ride-sharing platform,
the ride-sharing platform,
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11 million rides taken every day.
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That's 127 rides per second,
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showing that this is
a cross-cultural phenomenon.
a cross-cultural phenomenon.
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And the fascinating thing is
that both drivers and passengers report
that both drivers and passengers report
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that seeing a name
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and seeing someone's photo
and their rating
and their rating
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makes them feel safer,
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and as you may have experienced,
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even behave a little more nicely
in the taxi cab.
in the taxi cab.
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Uber and Didi are early
but powerful examples
but powerful examples
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of how technology
is creating trust between people
is creating trust between people
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in ways and on a scale
never possible before.
never possible before.
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Today, many of us are comfortable
getting into cars driven by strangers.
getting into cars driven by strangers.
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We meet up with someone
we swiped right to be matched with.
we swiped right to be matched with.
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We share our homes
with people we do not know.
with people we do not know.
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This is just the beginning,
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because the real disruption happening
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isn't technological.
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It's the trust shift it creates,
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and for my part, I want to help people
understand this new era of trust
understand this new era of trust
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so that we can get it right
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and we can embrace
the opportunities to redesign systems
the opportunities to redesign systems
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that are more transparent,
inclusive and accountable.
inclusive and accountable.
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Thank you very much.
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(Applause)
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Rachel Botsman - Trust researcherRachel Botsman is a recognized expert on how collaboration and trust enabled by digital technologies will change the way we live, work, bank and consume.
Why you should listen
Rachel Botsman is an author and a visiting academic at the University of Oxford, Saïd Business School. Her work focuses on how technology is enabling trust in ways that are changing the way we live, work, bank and consume. She defined the theory of "collaborative consumption" in her first book, What's Mine Is Yours, which she co-authored with Roo Rogers. The concept was subsequently named by TIME as one of the "10 Ideas that Will Change the World" and by Thinkers50 as the 2015 Breakthrough Idea.
Named a "Young Global Leader" by the World Economic Forum, Botsman examines the growth and challenges of start-ups such as Airbnb, TaskRabbit and Uber. She is regular writer and commentator in leading international publications including the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, The Economist, WIRED and more. She is currently writing a new book that explores why the real disruption happening isn’t technology; it’s a profound shift in trust.
Rachel Botsman | Speaker | TED.com