Can machines be trustworthy?

Abstract

AbstractAI regulators promote ‘trustworthy AI’, but what exactly does trustworthy AI mean, and what does it have to do with trust? Many philosophers argue that the phrase is a contradiction of terms. Trust, unlike reliance, is said to be a uniquely human relationship involving direct responsiveness or intent. I argue that the objective of trustworthy AI can be real trust in the general sense of Karen Jones and others, and very similar to the kind of trust we place in institutions. The idea that trustworthiness does not apply to machines, stems from a petitio principii fallacy. We show how to escape this fallacy, providing a better and less anthropomorphic definition of trustworthiness. We briefly discuss how transparency modulates trustworthiness on our revised definition, as well as a possible challenge from intentionality.