Professional
I currently work for the large telecommunication company. I conduct research on trust and ICT, specifically on trust in modern, convergent, mobile communication networks. This statement usually opens the series of questions: 'What is trust?', 'Should we trust machines?', 'Why trust in networks?'.
It seems to me that we grow technology by borrowing concepts from somewhere else: psychology, sociology, biology and then by applying those concepts to the given technology area. It is especially visible in computer science where the flexibility of the computer does not impose significant restrictions and allows us to implement any concept we like.
Building on this observation, I believe that we are rapidly approaching an interesting moment in the development of computing and communication infrastructure: the moment where we will be able to model the behaviour of the network by applying certain sociological and psychological concepts, rather then referring to the long list of standards. Specifically, security (as we know it) will be gradually replaced by solutions that will base on trust.
Fundamentally, trust is what one person feels towards the other person. So, how can we apply trust to machines? We can trust computers only because we can believe they are 'humanlike'. Computers can trust each other only because we program them to simulate human behaviour. However, the way we trust others is affected by whether the communication is conducted through computers or face to face ...
Confused? I think so. We are engaged in a complex interplay between ourselves, other people, computers that behave like people and people that behave like computers. We interact directly or through technology that we do not fully understand. On top of this we try to do what we always do: make friends, trade goods, do work, have fun.
In those settings trusting (or not) became the very complex question. Computers needs continuous updates, spam clutters inboxes, viruses can damage our precious (even though potentially illegally copied) music collection and a friendly trader can clear our bank account. Is there anything we can trust without restrictions?
My recommendation: read some of my research papers and publications or even better some of my books listed on this site and things may clarify a bit. But I cannot promise it.