AI breaks everything except trust
Why trust is the new oil.
Doug Shapiro is fast becoming one of my favorite online writers, and his new piece "Trust is the new oil" is terrific. His core thesis: AI will flood every platform with synthetic content, making trust the only reliable signal that matters.
We're witnessing a fundamental shift from "whoever captures the most attention wins" to "whoever builds the most trust wins."
Here's what most people miss: attention is finite and zero-sum. Your time scrolling TikTok can't also be spent reading newsletters. But trust works differently. It's infinite and collaborative. Me trusting one creator doesn't reduce the trust I have available for another.
The implications are significant. Human curation becomes premium infrastructure. Long-term creator relationships start outvaluing viral moments. Community-driven IP becomes the strongest possible moat. Companies with direct customer relationships beat those dependent on algorithmic distribution every time.
The winners will be the companies and creators who've spent years building genuine relationships. Think about the "boring" newsletter writer with 10K subscribers who get genuinely excited about every email. Or the game studio that actually listens to community feedback and iterates based on it.
The attention economy isn't going anywhere, but sharecropping on the attention platforms is going to become harder and less valuable with every passing year.
In a world of infinite content, finite trust becomes the ultimate currency.
David hit the nail on its head - in the end, business is all about trust.
David foresees and nails the points before they become mainstream. Continuously enjoying your articles!