Dangers of "Blind Trust" and Most Important Trust Topics | Ep 6

Trust Factor with Rob Greenlee focuses on all aspects to building human trust in online communications. Only on 100TV.

What are the critical factors and dangers of blind trust? And most important trust topics now will be discussed in this episode. Hi, Rob Greenlee here again for episode 6 Thank you for joining me. The trust factor in your life is essential, and it profoundly impacts the quality of your life. So that's what this series is all about, is to have a significant impact on the quality of your life. So trust is the number one factor in all of our lives right now and will continue to grow in its importance. So thank you for joining me here this week. It's great to have you here. We are now available as an audio podcast too at applepodcast.com and Spotify and other listening platforms. So you can get this show there. So follow the show there as well as, and subscribe on YouTube. This is a video podcast. If you're seeing this and you would like to see us, if you're just listening to the audio podcast, come on over and check out the video podcast side. I'm trying to do the best I can present a quality show on the video side as well. So That's an important part. It also— to find me on YouTube, just go to 100TV channel on YouTube, and it's one of a group of shows that are available now on YouTube. It's a joint project between myself and other independent creators and Ross Brand, who is leading the development of this new network. So it's very exciting, and I'm happy to be here. So Well, let's get going into our topics. What are the critical factors and dangers of blind trust in our world today? So I think it's an interesting question and it's been popping up in my mind as the growing numbers of people who are disconnecting from their digital lives increasingly because of conflict and about the stress of being online. And I think many see disconnection from the online world and technology as a way to become more healthy and centered again. But yet at the same time, future robots will continue and AI will, will continue to get more intelligent. And that's a danger to all of us as we disconnect and and as technology takes over larger parts of our lives, if people, humans become less informed about what's happening in the world, there is a danger, I believe, and it's becoming increasingly important that we all stay involved in government and be informed about the essential political governance and society structures and increasingly laws and policies being decided for all of us today. So it's— this is a period over the next, I don't know, 8 to 10 years will be a significant period of change. And if we don't like the changes that are being proposed, we need to get involved. We need to put our civics hat on and get involved in those processes as much as we have time for. Now, granted, I realize that many of us are very busy in our lives. We have families, we have job responsibilities. It's difficult for us to be involved on politics and involved in local governments and things like that. But there are decisions that are being made about our future and our lives right now in all those places that we may or may not want in our future. And technology is really enabling this. So this question thread brings up some complex and important topics around the connection between our digital life, our trust and disconnection, and societal participation. Those are the key elements of what I'm talking about here. And it may feel good to back away from what's happening in the world because it just feels too stressful, or it feels like we just can't make enough of an impact where it's worth our time to put into trying to promote and be informed. And there's just so much conflict that all of us would like to avoid. And, and really the 3 main points that I want to talk about here now is blind trust, disconnection from digital life, and political disengagement. And I think those are interesting elements as we look at our trust factors in our lives and how these elements of our, of decisions that we make. And that I believe these are decisions that we make around the quality of our life, more, I think, from the long term. They may not be easy in the short term, and, but it is true that we may need to be engaged in these topics and these issues on an ongoing basis now going forward, because the one constant that I think that's happening now, and this is a crazy thing to, to think about, is that change is going to be coming at us at a much more rapid pace. Technology is enabling more control of our lives, access to data about our lives, and increasingly that data that I'm referring to of data points about activities that we partake in our lives are being collated into a profile of us. And increasingly, I think our government and our political establishment and our corporations are cooperating to basically have access to very detailed data about our lives and our activities in our lives, and we just need to decide if that is okay, and also to have an input on whether or not the use of that and the access of that will be used in positive ways versus destructive ways or harmful ways or ways that we don't agree with. That will cause fundamental societal breakdowns. Trust— and this is really a topic around blind trust, and that's where I want to start off here— is trust is a fundamental part of society, and allowing us to engage with trust is, is so important with our institutions, with individuals and systems. Without really requiring exhaustive firsthand verification? Are we going to be able to trust these institutions and individuals without doing firsthand verification and seeing what's behind things that are going on? However, when trust becomes blind, like we're talking about here, placed without critical thinking, scrutiny, or checks and balances, it can become risky. So blind trust can leave societies vulnerable to manipulation, misinformation, and exploitation, or worse. So I think these are important things for us to think about as we participate in the world around us today and contribute your thoughts. Get involved in local politics, get, get involved as much as you have time for. And write your congressman when you see things that are going on that, or new bills or whatever. I know it's so difficult to keep up with this stuff because everything is moving so fast right now, but it's really essential in this era of digital information, AI, and robots. The growing impact, I believe, of robots that are coming, where sophisticated technology can disseminate misleading or false information widely and rapidly, we need to really have our radar up about what is going on in the world. And as a result, it is increasingly essential that we need to be more strong and civically engaged people to— and to cultivate information literacy, critical thinking skills. And I've talked about this in past episodes, and healthy skepticism about the information that you are hearing and that you get from either the media or political leaders or corporations, because increasingly we are seeing agendas be a big part of this. And I think we need to all be aware of that and not just take what we're being told as fact. Believe me, I faced this struggle too of knowing what to believe, knowing what really to think about. But I think just running it through a critical filter of your own common sense, and this is a struggle, and do create a balanced life. And I wanna talk about this a little bit more later, but the other element of this is our desire and a growing trend for digital disconnection. So we want to get away from the stress, get away from the turmoil, get away from, let's say, Facebook or social media platforms or YouTube, because there's just so much digital toxicity going on there. But it is a significant trend that's growing around digital minimalism, and where individuals limit or eliminate their digital technologies in their lives to improve mental health, increase focus, and reclaim their personal time, which, hey, it's really hard to disagree with those priorities. I think I grew up in an era without internet technology and without this high level of technical information gathering, and I can see the benefits of that. But yet, while this can have personal benefits, like I say, there is a risk that disconnection too much can lead to being uninformed or disconnected from society. And not all disconnection is harmful, but it is possible, I believe, to strike a balance. It's all about focus. It's all about priorities. And I do think that some of us can pull this off and other people may struggle at it. But if you're one of those people that you think that you have the skills, the ability, and the wherewithal to strike that balance and still be involved, I think it's very important. And digital literacy education can help individuals use technology in a healthy and balanced ways without disconnecting fully. That's finding ways to use technology in an efficient way. And a very specific and targeted way. And that's why it's important to listen to independent creators that can provide some guidance and direction on maybe how to do some of these things. Case in point, this show is the purpose of why I'm doing this show, is that I believe that trust is key and fundamental to all this, and the political disengagement is even more damaging not voting, not learning about candidates, not sending an email to your leaders when there's a proposed bill that's happening. There is always resources online to look up proposed bills in your state house, in your state senate, as well as at the federal level, to somewhat do your best to keep up with what is happening there. And what the discussions are. And increasingly, independent content creators are also following this also. So people that disconnect from their digitalized life might become less informed, like I was saying earlier, and involved in— and not as involved in society or political decisions. So this is really key. And this could lead to a lack of representation in serious and important decision-making process. That could affect the quality of your life and the fairness of laws and policies that align with your values and maybe even the values that human beings have for their own lives. I think that the United States of America is a unique country from the standpoint of we have a Constitution that spells out certain rights that we have And I do think that there's people out there that would like to take those rights away for greater control. So those are things— there's a benefit to control, there's a benefit to enforcement using technology of our laws, and I believe that's the big thing that's happening right now. And so it's really essential to maintain a level of civic engagement, to find ways to stay informed, and involved that is independent of constant digital connection. I think it's a hard thing to do. That's a real-world kind of a thing too. Maybe going to council meetings, maybe going to sessions in Congress or in your local house or whatever, just getting involved. I think governments can do a better job of helping people have access. And I know that there are laws and statutes that require the government to offer public contributions in the form of meetings, and your community governments as well need to be providing access and promoting civic education. So these are other elements. So in conclusion, while these factors present challenges, they are interconnected. So a thoughtful, balanced approach to digital life and trust, coupled with active civic engagement can help individuals navigate these challenges. So it's a kind of a responsibility that we all have to ensure that as technology continues to evolve and be used in increasing interconnected ways, that it is used in a way that fosters informed and engaged and healthy societies. So these are things that we have to foster and encourage as well. So that's my ideas on that topic of, of just blind trust and our responsibilities to not take everything or let everything just slip by based on apathy or lack of willing to engage I know I myself, I need to do a better job of this too. I need to write emails and I need to go to local sessions myself. So I'm not a perfect example of this myself, but I am trying to raise awareness of these things and make changes in my life and stay informed as well. But it does come with a price. It does come with increasing numbers of people not encouraging people to stay informed because it can feel stressful. So I wanted to jump to another topic to wrap up this episode, which will be a little bit shorter than my last episode. But here are some of the most important topics around trust in the world today. And these topics I will be exploring in this podcast in the coming episodes. Some of these topics I've already started to address in earlier episodes. So this is episode 6. So if you're interested in learning more about some of these topics in prior episodes, I would go back and take a watch or take a listen. I should have all of my past episodes up as audio podcasts as well, probably by the end or the middle of this coming week. So that's my goal anyway. And so I'll be caught up. So when I publish the video side of this, I will simultaneously, going forward after episode 6, publish the audio episode at the same time. So if you don't want to watch me but you have time to listen, then you have that choice. So that's the idea anyway. So here are some of the topics that I would like to cover over the next few months on this podcast, and I'm really thinking about ways that I can expand the scope of the show to get into details and to get into areas that maybe you wouldn't necessarily think of in the context of trust. But as you make those connections, as, and as I make those connections, I think that those areas are going to become clear. And I think that the topic of trust can go in so many different directions. And that's what I want to do with this show is to build a show that really has a large following that is talking about important topics and issues that are fundamental in the trust concept, but maybe in areas that are, you might think are unusual ways to think about. So the number one one is trust in AI and automated systems or autonomy. As AI permeates every aspect of our life, which it will, it's just a matter of time, establishing trust in these systems becomes increasingly critical. So This covers areas like transparency and AI decision-making, ethical AI, and AI's impact on privacy. So I did do an episode last— two episodes ago on can we trust AI, but there are so many elements of AI trust that have yet to be explored, and so that's what I hope to do in this major topic area. So look for this topic to be a big one with me moving forward, because I think it's really key to a lot of things. And then number 2 is trust in cryptocurrencies, right? Bitcoin, Dogecoin, blockchain, that kind of stuff. I think that there's a lot of misunderstanding and a lot of controversy around cryptocurrencies or cyber currencies or cyber exchanges. How the government is viewing these as well. As these technologies gain more mainstream acceptance, trust in their security, reliability become major topics of discussion. So I want to talk about those here as well. I'm sure that many of you are not really involved in cryptocurrencies or cybercurrencies or anything quite yet, but I do believe over the subsequent years And this includes blockchain as well. I believe that increasing opportunities and access will be available. It just, I guess it really gets down to what the governments do around currency and the US dollar and what happens around the world. It may be that cryptocurrencies get shut down. I don't know that blockchain is going away, but These are autonomous to some degree systems or independent systems from control. And I do believe that there is an interest in controlling cryptocurrencies and blockchain. So I'm going to explore that a little bit as well. And then the next one is trust in remote work environments. See, with the shift to remote and hybrid work due to what we just went through with COVID-19 pandemic, trust in digital communication and collaboration tools exploded, right? So, as well as trust between employers and employees in remote settings. Now, granted, there is a significant backlash to remote with a lot of major corporations right now, even in the digital side, where they want people back in the office again. So I believe, and this is where the trust in remote work environments really comes into play, because I do believe that there are many employers, increasing numbers of employers, that don't trust remote homework. So these are topics that need to be explored as well. And the next one is trust in biomedical research and vaccines. Do we trust the big pharma companies? Do we trust government? Do we trust the FDA? Do we trust the rapid development of pharmaceuticals with minimal amount of testing of those pharmacological agents? And are we, are we trusting enough to allow those in our bodies? What are those doing to our bodies? Do we trust in the medical research now? The vaccine development process is a critical issue now going forward. I believe that the governments of the world are going to make this a primary driver of a lot of digital systems that are going to have an interest in, in surveilling us and keeping a close eye on our activities and what we do in the world and what we're potentially able to do based on the potential health outbreaks that may occur. So this is another topic. I'm going to remain as neutral politically as I can on these topics, but it's going to get back to issues of trust. So number 5 here is trust in cybersecurity. So do we trust our access to digital information? Can we trust our ability to access financial information? What about breaches of data? What about cyberattacks, trust in cybersecurity, other practices and institutions as it relates to cybersecurity from a governmental and nation-state issue too? Cybersecurity is such an area of, I believe, massive amounts of mistrust and massive amounts of uncertainty and stress in many people's lives. And the last one here is Climate change. Climate change and trust. Trust in climate change science, international cooperation, and corporate commitments to reducing emissions are all emerging as significant trust-related issues in our world and in all of our lives. I believe many of these things roll up and are part of each other because there is conflicting information out there that exists on the topic relating to natural shifts in climate that have been going on for millions of years. And those are a factor here too, versus the impact on humans. Is— are humans really causing climate change, or is the shift based on solar cycles and different heat patterns on the planet that are constantly evolving and changing? So these are topics that I think are very important for us to be clear on so we can trust the information that's being told to us and make the appropriate decisions in our lives. I think it is always better to have a cleaner earth and a cleaner environment, and, but we need to really figure this out. Is CO2 really the dangerous thing that it's being portrayed to be right now? Or is it— so let's get clear on what's really going on here and what the main topics are of it. And do we trust what we're being told? So anyway, those are the main 6 areas that I'm going to focus on over the next couple months in this show. So what I wanted to do next was talk about comments and show feedback from episode 4 and 5, since last week's episode I did not talk about comments. So Jody Kragle from episode 5 wrote to me, your show is fantastic and more people need to see it. Keep doing what you're doing, Rob. I appreciate that feedback, Jody. I will keep doing what, 'cause I believe this is one of the most important topics in our world today. So I'm gonna keep it going. Sue Ann also wrote, this is about episode 4 where I did talk about AI, tough subject. This trust thing, love the show and reminder for finding and understanding how to create trust. Also cool point about first learning to trust our own thoughts and value those thoughts while still staying open-minded about other information and other people's thoughts. And this gets back to a little bit what I talked about developing a little bit of a thick skin about other people's views and listen and take what you can from those views, but you don't have to agree. Nobody is— generally in the world, we shouldn't feel like we have to be forced to agree to any opinion or any piece of fact. I think we all need to decide for ourselves, and people around us need to respect that. I believe that's not what's happening today. So thank you, Sue Ann, for that feedback from episode 4. And then the third one is Digital Rockstar 4171 from 2 weeks ago in episode 4 as well. I'm loving ChatGPT and want to explore more AI tools. Great show, Rob. Thank you so much. I appreciate that. And I definitely want to hear from you. So send me an email. Rob.greenlee@gmail.com. And here's my address here on the screen. And I want to hear from you. I'm also on Twitter too, @robgreenlee. And that's just like how it's spelled, G-R-E, that's Rob Greenlee. And also on LinkedIn and the Instagram platform as well. So my LinkedIn address is linkedin.com/robgreenlee. In/RobGreenlee. So you're welcome to post a comment and then obviously post in the comment stream on YouTube as you're watching this. And would love to, to hear your thoughts anyway. And thank you for joining me here on episode 6 of this series. And look for me Mondays on demand when I typically will be posting the video episode of this. And subsequently after that will be the audio episode. So thank you so much. I appreciate you spending time with me today, and I hope you come back and join me next week in episode 7. So I'm going to try and push the envelope a little bit on that episode and see what I can get done. So thank you so much, and I appreciate you being here with me. Bye.