Is it wise to blindly trust digital applications?

Based on systematic philosophical reflections, the project will address the general question of the importance of trust in the context of digital transformations and will focus on two main questions: firstly, the project will reflect on the significance of marking a digital structure as trustworthy. For example: when can we trust a medical algorithm? Secondly, the project will address the question of how digital structures change the bonds of trust in our everyday lives. For example: how does the ubiquity of digital media influence the functioning of a democracy?

The growing importance of digital technologies in all areas of our lives worries many people. Science often sees in this insecurity a confidence crisis. While with regard to human interactions, a comprehensive reflection on the question of trust and the reasons for trust has already taken place in disciplines such as political science or sociology, the discussion regarding digital structures is still in its infancy.

Given the significant presence of digital technologies in our lives, we often wish we knew which ones are trustworthy. A first aim of the project is to understand what is meant by «digital trustworthiness». The second goal is guided by the question of how to steer digitization processes so that they harmonize with our non-digital trust relationships.

Within the scope of this project, we will refine the central concept of trust and set it in proper relationship to the technologies discussed in the digitization debate. Beyond this important groundwork, the project is also relevant from a practical point of view: it will help us respond to uncertainties associated with new digital technologies and to formulate suggestions on how to maintain trust in the face of increasing digitization.

Trust and Trustworthiness in Digital Spheres