Is anything trustworthy?

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We’re living through a collapse of trust – and it’s not just online.

Every swipe, click and scroll trains us to doubt. AI-generated content floods our feeds with polished “reality,” and deepfakes blur the line between proof and performance. Bots now negotiate with bots, buy on our behalf, recommend what we “should” want, and sometimes decide before we even think. The speed is dizzying. The consequences are not.

But let’s be honest: the distrust didn’t start with AI. AI simply arrived in a world already bruised by disappointment.

In the real world, controversies pile up: bribery allegations that refuse to die, “ghost projects,” and the slow grind of justice that makes truth feel delayed and diluted. Add to that the spin experts and agency spokespersons who can make a crisis sound like a “communications challenge.”

When people see that accountability is optional and consequences are negotiable, they don’t just lose trust in institutions – they lose trust in everything.

Then there’s the modern marketplace of influence: a plethora of TikTok, YouTube and online “fake gurus” dishing out shallow advice and offering expensive courses. Yet these influencers have never exhibited a track record of life or business achievements beyond selling their wares.

They sell certainty in 60 seconds, confidence in a carousel post and “success” in a downloadable PDF. It’s a strange economy – the less proof required, the higher the price tag.

No wonder people ask: How can anyone trust anything?

AI agents can now research, purchase, negotiate and recommend autonomously. Brands can be reduced to a prompt. People can be imitated with uncanny accuracy.

And in a world where machines increasingly make decisions, trust is no longer a “nice-to-have.” It becomes a survival skill.

While I was leading a leadership seminar, an earthquake occurred, disrupting our proceedings.

And every time there is an earthquake, and you are in a building, your immediate question is:

“Does this building have structural integrity?” Will it withstand the shocks?

That question is not just about concrete and steel – it’s a metaphor for leadership, organizations, even nations.

What happens when the entire structure is full of compromised standards and integrity?

I am not referring only to the use of substandard materials, but also to the systemic practice of ethical compromise and moral failure.

There is just no way anything, whether a business organization or even a country, can withstand shocks hurled at it.

When values are cracked, pressure doesn’t just reveal weakness; it multiplies damage.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: the crisis isn’t AI.

The crisis is the erosion of trust everywhere.

AI is only the accelerant. It gives anyone the tools to mislead at scale, cheaply, quickly and convincingly. And when trust is already fragile, one spark becomes a wildfire.

This is why trust is the new currency.

In business, government, relationships and leadership, trust buys speed, loyalty, resilience and cooperation.

Without it, everything costs more – time, energy, verification, second-guessing, turnover and emotional strain.

Work becomes difficult because every decision is questioned, every instruction is doubted and every motive is suspected.

And this is where leaders must lean in: integrity is no longer a private virtue; it is a public necessity.

Leaders don’t just manage results; they manage belief.

Trust is the foundation of leadership.

Where there is no trust, there is no leadership at all – only titles, meetings and motion.

Without trust, everything becomes play-acting. People smile in meetings and sigh in hallways. They clap in town halls and complain in group chats. Everyone performs, but few commit.

And we cannot expect excellence and commitment in an atmosphere of distrust.

At best, we get mere compliance – and compliance is the cousin of mediocrity. It does what is required, not what is meaningful. It meets the minimum, not the mission. It produces activity, not excellence.

So what do we do in the age of AI and in an economy of distrust?

We stop treating trust as a feeling and start treating it as a design principle.

Trust must be verified, not merely claimed.

It must be earned, not assumed.

And it must be continuous, not occasional.

Organizations need credibility frameworks – verifiable identity systems; transparent, enforceable policies; monitoring that detects anomalies; audits that actually mean something; and consequences that don’t disappear with the news cycle.

For individuals, the new rule is simple: assume anything can be faked and verify it anyway.

Not because we want to be cynical, but because we want to stay free.

Discernment is not paranoia. It’s maturity.

The future won’t belong to the loudest voices, the flashiest edits or the smoothest spokespeople.

It will belong to those who can be trusted – consistently, verifiably and automatically.

Resilient trust won’t happen by accident. It begins with design – and with leaders who choose integrity when shortcuts are available.

Because in the end, trust isn’t just what makes business work. It’s what makes leadership real.

Join Francis Kong at SpeakersCon 2026, a one-day experience designed for leaders, educators, executives and professionals who want to communicate with clarity, credibility and purpose.

Happening on Feb. 11, 2026, at SPACE, One Ayala Makati. Gain practical insights on leadership, influence and authentic communication in today’s evolving landscape.

For inquiries, email us at [email protected] or send us a direct message at facebook.com/SpeakersCon. Visit www.speakerscon.ph for details.