This brief paper is about trust. It explores the phenomenon from various angles, with the implicit assumptions that trust can be measured in some ways, that trust can be compared and rated, and that trust is of worth when we consider entities from data, through artificial intelligences, to humans, with side trips along the way to animals. It explores trust systems and trust empowerment as opposed to trust enforcement, the creation of trust models, applications of trust, and the reasons why trust is of worth.
We claim that the digital trust research area has tended to privilege the act of trusting while considering distrust a negative outcome. However, from the users perspective distrust might be as valid an option as trust (it may not be a good idea to trade, collaborate or exchange in a particular context). How do we evaluate digital environments that aim to empower trust for the user? This position paper explores some of the complexities. The traditional approach of measuring for an increase in trust is not appropriate. Testing for whether the user has made the 'right' trust choice is also unsuitable as trust is personal and idiosyncractic and can only be understood via the perspective of the user. We suggest that the measuring of the reduction of uncertainty before and after a user interacts has potential because it can allow access into whether a user has received the benefit shared by both trust and distrust, a reduction in uncertainty.
Online dating is one domain, which would benefit from the application of computational trust. One of the problems with the application of traditional computational trust models, as identified in our previous work, is authenticity of information provided by parties which helps other users ascertain whether they want to go on dates. In this position paper, we suggest a solution: a concordance based framework for a game to be built into a online dating system. The game provokes users to provide spontaneous and thus more genuine data about themselves. The key feature of the game is the respect for privacy that supports and encourages the user to provide authentic information. Future work will comprise of implementation of the game and its user testing.
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