Trust in Technology
Frens Kroeger has worked on trust in new and emerging technologies, particularly in three areas:
In the area of Trust in Artificial Intelligence, he is currently working on several academic papers concerning, among other things, a sound conceptual basis for the field (what does “trust in AI” actually mean, and what are its antecedents?), and the question of how we can broaden our understanding of explainability (Expanded Explainability, or X2AI). He has given presentations on the topic at a number of world-leading technology companies. First outputs in this area include:
- the first annotated Bibliography on Trust in AI, developed together with an expert working group convened by the Partnership on AI
- a presentation at DeepMind in which Frens talked about the path towards trustworthy AI and AGI
- the paper Towards Trustworthy AI Development: Mechanisms for Making Verifiable Claims, co-authored with an international team led by OpenAI
- an interview that Google did with Frens on the topic of Trustworthy AI Ecosystems (socio-technical systems that help stakeholder groups work together in defining what makes AI trustworthy and facilitating these changes as part of the AI development process).
In the area of Trust in Autonomous Transport, Frens is leading the project Trusting Technology with your Life in cooperation with the Connected Places Catapult in Milton Keynes, funded by the British government. As part of this, Frens has interviewed numerous industry leaders in the UK and abroad, and is cooperating closely with the government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Transport. First results of the project are expected in 2021.
An even newer area of investigation concerns Trust in Smart Cities. Here, Frens is developing a concept for complex integrated systems-of-systems (SOS), which he calls “Fully Trusted Ecosystems” (f-tec). He has presented initial concepts to technology leaders including British Telecom.
Frens’s consulting in the area of Trust in Technology builds on his research and his in-depth specialised expertise in the area of trust. Some of the central questions he asks are:
- What are the foundations of (factual and perceived) trustworthiness?
- How can we facilitate “appropriate” trust in new and emerging technologies?
- How can we build socio-technical systems that make these technologies more trustworthy?
- How can we integrate trustworthiness into new technologies from the get-go?
Trust in Security
Frens Kroeger is one of the first researchers world-wide to present in-depth analyses of the role of trust, distrust and trustworthiness in the security sector, with a particular focus on intelligence and counter-terrorism. He has written several papers on the role of trust in counter-terrorism (i.e., between organizations and relevant external groups) and trust in intelligence agencies (i.e., within organizations). Ironically, these papers as well as several projects under development are “secret” for the time being (due to ongoing peer review etc.), but will appear here in due course. For now, a brief and basic comment of his on trust and terrorism can be found in an edited volume published on the tenth anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings. Frens has also recently made the cover of InterSec – The Journal of International Security with an article on the key role of restoring public trust for security.
Frens’s consulting in the area of Trust in Security builds on his research and his in-depth specialised expertise in the area of trust.
Trust in Business
Frens Kroeger has long been a leading researcher on trust within and between businesses. He has published numerous papers on the topic in leading academic journals, including how organisations can build trust with each other, how they can succeed in building a strong culture of trust, how trust in wider economic systems arises and collapses, how representatives can engender trust in the organisations they work for, and how teams can benefit from “swift trust” under conditions of time pressure, to quote but a few. Frens has provided expert advice on these issues to practitioners and policy makers alike (including, for instance, the UK Cabinet Office), and has extensive consultancy experience on the issues of trust and trustworthiness within and between companies. Interviews with Frens on these issues have been featured in TV, print and digital media in North America, Australia and Asia.