Moderator and Panellists

• Ming Tan, Founding Executive Director, Tech for Good Institute
• E. Amandeep Singh Gill, Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology, United Nations
• E. Gaspard Twagirayezu, Minister for Education, Rwanda
• Jo Cops, President, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
• Karan Bhatia, Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Google
• Michael Punke, Global Vice President, Public Policy, Amazon Web Services

The relationship between society and technology is at a crossroads. Despite the progress and opportunities of the digital revolution, it has also sown seeds of discontent and mistrust. According to SGTech, digital trust revolves around participants’ confidence “in the digital ecosystem to interact securely, in a transparent, accountable, and frictionless manner.”

Public confidence in digital advancements is waning, reports the World Economic Forum (WEF), as cybercrimes proliferate and technology is increasingly incorporated into services like e-governance and e-payments. Key concerns include personal data protection, the trustworthiness of digital financial services, the reliability of information in the age of AI, and the potential for algorithmic bias.

Without trust, innovation alone is insufficient to drive progress, especially in Southeast Asia and the Global South. The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer highlights concerns about rapid innovation, particularly AI, with 35% of respondents rejecting it. This distrust hinders adoption and progress. The global trust deficit in digital technologies challenges governments, institutions, and industries to restore public confidence and ensure responsible development.

Building confidence requires more than cybersecurity tools; social, political, legal, economic, environmental, and ethical factors must also be considered. UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls for a Global Digital Compact to “outline shared principles for an open, free, and secure digital future,” addressing issues that undermine digital trust. Experts from various sectors offer insights on how governments and tech companies can rebuild trust and ensure technology serves the greater good.

Key Takeaways

1. Inclusivity and collaboration as key elements in developing a trustworthy Global Digital Compact.

The Global Digital Compact must adhere to the principle of “nothing about us without us,” involving a diverse range of stakeholders—governments, tech companies, civil society, and developing nations. This broad participation is crucial for building trust and legitimacy, ensuring a fair and representative digital environment. It helps bridge gaps between influential and less powerful entities and addresses issues like the marginalisation of less technologically advanced nations and rising protectionism. A collaborative approach among governments is essential for creating aligned regulatory frameworks, enhancing the Compact’s effectiveness in tackling digital age challenges and fostering equitable global participation.

2. Governments as key orchestrators of multi-stakeholder digital trust

The panel underscored the pivotal role of governments in establishing digital trust, emphasising that while responsibility spans multiple sectors, governments must define the foundational standards and frameworks for the digital realm. This includes investing strategically in infrastructure and implementing policies focused on citizen needs to drive widespread digital adoption. Rwanda was highlighted as a model of this approach, with its efforts to simplify online access to government services and position technology as a tool for public benefit. These measures have effectively demonstrated technology’s real-world advantages, fostering broader adoption and enhancing digital trust. Additionally, Rwanda’s proactive measures in strengthening data protection laws and creating regulatory bodies to oversee responsible tech use are critical in building trust and increasing technology uptake. By setting clear “digital bottom lines” and showcasing the tangible benefits of technology, governments can create a cycle of trust, adoption, and economic growth within the digital landscape.

3. Balanced regulatory environment vital in enabling innovation while protecting public interests.

It was also echoed during the panel that the Global Digital Compact should champion a nuanced regulatory environment that carefully balances innovation with public protection. This perspective redefines regulations as tools for enabling rather than policing, fostering a trustworthy ecosystem for technological progress. By encouraging a collaborative relationship between tech companies and regulatory bodies, this approach promotes transparency and responsible development. Key to this balanced framework are innovative tools like regulatory sandboxes, which offer controlled settings for testing new technologies while ensuring public safety through oversight. Such measures build trust and confidence across the digital ecosystem, allowing users, innovators, and regulators to operate with assurance.

4. Global public-private collaboration is vital to fostering trust within the digital ecosystem.

Trust-building demands concerted efforts, including public-private partnerships to mitigate risks from emerging technologies. In light of this, continuous dialogue between businesses and governments is essential to balance innovation with societal concerns and public safety. An approach to achieving this is by leveraging international standards organisations that prepare and publish global standards related to digital technologies. Linking industry with regulators and promoting transparency, international standards play a pivotal role in this trust-building process. The cooperation of tech providers and governments with international standards foster a consistent and trustworthy digital ecosystem as it addresses critical issues such as data privacy, AI ethics, and cybersecurity on a global scale. By setting these standards, international bodies ensure responsible technological advancements, safeguarding users and maintaining trust in digital platforms.