From Principles to Practice: Rethinking Trust in the Age of AI

How can we move from principles to practice in building trust in AI and digital infrastructure?

This was the central question at Digital Gipfel Switzerland 2025, held above Lake Lucerne under the theme “Key Elements of Trust to Use the Potential of AI.” Prof. Effy Vayena joined Swiss and international leaders from business, government, and academia to reflect on this timely and complex issue.

In both her keynote and an interactive workshop, Prof. Vayena invited participants to re-examine a concept often taken for granted:
Is “trust” the right term for our relationship with technology?

While trust is fundamental in human relationships, the dynamics change significantly when the subject is artificial intelligence. What exactly are we being asked to trust? The technology itself? The data it uses? Or rather, the people, institutions, and governance systems that design, deploy, and oversee these technologies?

This shift in focus reframes the debate—from an emotional or relational concept to a structural one. If we are to build meaningful and durable confidence in AI systems, we must move beyond trust as a feeling and focus instead on the frameworks that make such systems worthy of trust.

As Prof. Vayena emphasized, governance is the essential bridge between high-level ethical principles and real-world implementation. With AI ethics guidelines proliferating globally, the real challenge is no longer defining shared values, but embedding them into the design, deployment, and oversight of technology.

Her concluding message was clear:
Switzerland must foster an agile regulatory environment, invest in governance best practices and digital literacy, and use its international credibility to lead in tech diplomacy.

ETH Zurich, she noted, is already rising to this challenge.