The Futures of Trust(s)
Exploring the unfolding
spirals of trust
in the societies of tomorrow
Working Session
spirals of trust
in the societies of tomorrow
Working Session
Why Trust(s)?
- Trust has become one of the most critical yet volatile factors in digital society.
- AI and automation are replacing human decision-making, raising new trust dilemmas.
- Digital platforms struggle with misinformation, bias, and reputation crises.
- New regulatory frameworks attempt to regulate trust and responsibility… and fail.
- People. Oh, those people… They trust - and mistrust – things in new, often enigmatic ways.
Trust isn’t just changing – it’s going through an identity crisis.
Let’s explore what that means together.
The Futures of the Trust(s): Working Session
Based on a number of recent projects focused on emerging trust practices, Summ( )n has developed a special thematic session to explore the Futures of Trust(s).
- The session is designed for the teams who want to understand how ‘trust’ has been evolving in response to rapid digital transformation, shifting societal norms and emerging practices – and also to anticipate what new ‘trust regimes’ could emerge in the near future.
- This session is built on a socio-historical analysis of trust (or trust regimes), reviewing how they were achieved and maintained across different societies and time periods, leading to the complex, multi-layered ‘trust landscape’ of today.
- However, it goes beyond a basic overview of existing trust patterns and offers a structured, hands-on experience in identifying possible future trust regimes of tomorrow using the Future Probing method.
Session Flow
The hands-on, participatory process to explore emerging futures, actively identify patterns, weave new narratives, and design innovative solutions.
The Landscapes of Trust (and Mistrust)
Through a short interactive game, we explore the key stages in the evolution of trust throughout human history - examining how trust was built (and broken) in different eras and using various technologies and trust enablers.
This stage helps participants develop a shared 'lexicon of trust' and acquire a new ‘lens’, enabling them to analyse 'future signals’ in a more structured and consistent way.
Customizable Domains
for Future Signals
for Future Signals
The Future of Trust(s) session usually includes three core domains(a customizable fourth domain tailored to the client’s industry is also possible).
Core Domains:
1.Emerging Personal Tactics of Trust – How individuals trust (or distrust) is changing in response to new technological (digital) systems and services, and new social practices.
2.Trust in – and between - larger systems – Examples of new patterns ‘b2b’ trust - in business, cities, organizations and digital platforms.
3.Trust in Art and Design – How creative disciplines reflect and shape new evolving trust patterns.
Core Domains:
1.Emerging Personal Tactics of Trust – How individuals trust (or distrust) is changing in response to new technological (digital) systems and services, and new social practices.
2.Trust in – and between - larger systems – Examples of new patterns ‘b2b’ trust - in business, cities, organizations and digital platforms.
3.Trust in Art and Design – How creative disciplines reflect and shape new evolving trust patterns.
- Custom Domain: The fourth domain is customizable to match the client's field (whether it’s finance, cybersecurity, healthcare, public sector, or technology-driven industries).
Future Worlds of Trust
- Building on the identified themes, we will construct speculative "Future Worlds of Trust", mapping how trust might evolve and transform across different domains.
- This stage is a highly creative and hands-on process, involving collaborative storytelling and tangible world-building. While it may initially spark some resistance, it quickly becomes one of the most engaging and enjoyable parts of the session - where imagination meets strategy to envision new possibilities for trust in the future.
Future Signals?
- In this phase, we engage with 'signals of the future’ – not just generic trends, but specific, concrete examples of recent developments that are unusual, unexpected, and even deviant. While marginal today, these signals have the potential to shape the mainstream of tomorrow.
- A few curated sets of trust-related signals will be introduced, each challenging conventional assumptions about trust in personal, organizational, and societal contexts. Participants will explore these signals, identifying new emerging trust mechanisms across three key domains.
- Through collective deconstruction, we will analyse these signals in a broader social and cultural context, uncovering new patterns and themes that could influence the futures of trust.
Future Probes?
Or Innovation Concepts? Or..
Or Innovation Concepts? Or..
- In this final stage, teams will design "Trust Probes” - conceptual experiments that explore how trust can be built, maintained, or challenged in these envisioned future contexts.
- These probes can take different forms: they might be purely speculative thought experiments, pushing the boundaries of trust in imaginative ways - or they could serve as the first sketches of serious innovation concepts with real-world potential.
Whether provocative or practical, each Trust Probe is a step toward deeper insights and actionable ideas for shaping the futures of trust.
Key Outcomes
A new model of trust regimes
and their evolution over time (The Colours of Trust) - a fresh way to see how trust evolves over time, because let’s face it - trust isn’t just “earned or broken,” it comes in many shades.
Insights into future trust regimes,
their challenges and new opportunities for building credibility in a shifting world.
Conceptual Trust Probes -
tangible, thought-provoking trust experiments designed to explore and test trust in new ways.
Better strategic anticipation skills
– the teams are equipped with a viable method that can help them in navigating uncertainty with more confidence.
Who is this session for?
-
Business Leaders & Strategistswho need to anticipate trust dynamics in their industry. -
Innovation & Product Teamsdeveloping new digital (including AI-driven) services. -
Policy & Governance Expertsaddressing regulatory frameworks around digital trust. -
Academics & Researchersexploring trust in technology, AI ethics, and digital transformation.
Practicalities
Depending on your team’s needs, goals, and availability, we offer flexible session formats – a one-day deep dive or an extended two days experience for more in-depth exploration.
Designed for teams of from 6 to 18 people, these sessions can be tailored to fit your organization’s specific challenges and capabilities.
Read more about Summ()n and our Future Probing method at
Contact Slava Kozlov
(slava.kozlov @ summn.com)
for specific details about the Futures of Trust(s) sessions
(slava.kozlov @ summn.com)
for specific details about the Futures of Trust(s) sessions
