Despite trust in technology, crypto and AI among least trusted sectors globally

by James · October 27, 2022

Globally, technology is the most trusted sector (76%) compared to social media (47%), but interestingly, emerging technology sub-sectors such as cryptocurrency do not benefit from this higher trust. This is particularly evident in Australia, where AI/robotics (41%), digital assistants (45%), VR/AR/MR platforms (40%), Web3 (35%), autonomous technology (34%), blockchain ( 34%) %) and cryptocurrency (27%) are the least trusted.

The Japanese also strongly distrust digital assistants (38%), VR/AR/MR platforms (35%), Web3 (37%), autonomous technology (42%), blockchain (38%) and cryptocurrency (21%). . Edelman surveyed 15,000 consumers in 15 countries globally, including Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea.

At the same time, trust in the technology sector drops by 4.3% globally when consumers associate technology with social media. Although there is no statistical significance in the change in trust in developing markets, the APAC 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust in Technology report said that trust in the technology sector is falling by 9.8% in developed markets globally.

The majority (91%) of consumers think of social media and/or digital applications when they think of companies in the technology sector. On the other hand, trust increases overall as consumers associate the technology sector with digital apps and services (+14.0%) and hardware/software (+10.4%).

Nevertheless, 56% of respondents globally believe that technology companies are led by CEOs who genuinely care about the well-being of people and society, and 38% believe that technology CEOs make every effort to use their power to benefit society as a whole and not just for to improve their self-image or indulge their personal fantasies.

edelman tech trust subsectors

Nevertheless, all is not lost for technology companies looking to increase consumer confidence in new technologies. Consumers globally want technology companies to communicate benefits (41%) and drawbacks (38%), as well as disclose the results of real-world tests (35%) and develop ethical guidelines for their use (34%).

More specifically, consumers in Australia (46%), India (46%) and Japan (47%) want technology companies to showcase their benefits, while in China they prefer these companies to develop codes of conduct (29%) and communicate their drawbacks ( 27%). Those in South Korea also want tech firms to have ethical guidelines (39%) and disclose the results of real-world tests (38%).

edelman tech trust technology companies

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How technology deepens social fault lines

Trust in the technology sector also has an impact on society, and there are three main reasons among those who mistrust technology companies headquartered abroad. Globally, 54% distrust these tech companies as they don’t trust their governments, while 44% don’t trust their data protection laws. Furthermore, 42% are under the impression that their government can use data against them.

While 91% in China trust their domestic tech companies, only 69% say the same for foreign tech companies. Similarly, in India, trust in domestic technology firms is high (90%), while only 74% share a similar sentiment for foreign technology firms.

Privacy is also a concern in this digital age, with 73% globally worried about being tracked without consent or having their data used against them. There are also similar sentiments in India (81%), China (78%), Australia (75%), South Korea (72%) and Japan (68%).

Consumers in APAC also worry about being hacked and foreign technology companies compromising their national security, with many from India (80%) citing this as a concern followed by China (76%), Australia (73%), South Korea (73%). ), and Japan (66%).

These sentiments are very present among politicians as well, as evident when former US President Donald Trump considered banning TikTok in the country due to privacy concerns in 2020. This led to pressure from parent company ByteDance to sell its US operations, and weeks later the social media company eventually named Oracle as its technology provider. India also banned 59 Chinese apps in 2020 as a result of escalating tensions following a border clash that year.

Apart from cyber security and data protection, misinformation is also another concern that affects trust in technology. Many in India (84%) worry about fake news being used as a weapon, which is much higher than the global average of 73%. Similarly, those in China (79%), South Korea (77%) and Australia (70%) feel the same way. Interestingly, only 59% in Japan are concerned that misinformation is being used as a weapon.

Similarly, those in China (76%) and India (75%) are concerned that technology will make it impossible to know whether what people see or hear is real. This is also higher than the global average of 65%. Those in South Korea (70%), Australia (66%) and Japan (50%) share similar sentiments but are less worried.

Four ways to build trust in technology

1. Broadcast integrity through action

Tech CEOs face an empathy-optics problem. Address this through actions such as paying your fair share of taxes, running a sustainable supply chain and retraining workers.

2. Take on the biggest challenges of our time

Expertise and product innovation have driven technology’s trust, but now technology leaders must address climate, inequality and misinformation.

3. Fill the policy vacuum

Technology companies can lend credibility to public conversations with governments and NGOs, using their expertise to build trust in data policy, whether in national or international contexts.

4. Communicate a vision that I can choose

I need to feel included in the vision, and to support it, I need to know that I will not lose control of the organization. Do that and I’m more open to innovation.