Technology depends on trust. People must trust their devices to respect their privacy, trust others online to engage honestly, and trust technology corporations to steward their products ethically. At Rewired, we have been reflecting on the recent discourse surrounding antitrust and big tech’s potentially monopolistic practices. For us, the pushback against Silicon Valley monoliths indicates more than just legislative anxiety; these antitrust movements reveal the ways we (dis)trust intimate aspects of our lives to technology.
(Anti)Trust brings “trust” beyond its legal definition. From podcasts to interviews to book reviews, this issue engages with various manifestations of “trust” — in bonds connecting virtual social communities, experiences of forming online relationships, and ways tech ties assets to art through NFTs (“trust” in a financial sense).
Trust can’t be built in a day, but it certainly can be broken. We must move beyond looking for it just in community guidelines or terms of service. Trust requires our continuous, collective commitment. (Anti)Trust urges readers to set aside quick-fixes and inspires a sustained engagement in creating a digital future we can all have faith in.
— the Editors, Spring 2021
Credits
Editors: Jason Zhao, Irene Han, Ben Esposito, Christopher Maximos, Tanvi Dutta Gupta, Rayan Krishnan
Design: Crystal Nattoo (Lead), Jessica Chen, Anna Greene, Ji Hong Ni, Cameron Linhares-Huang, Emily Zhong
Tech: Rayan Krishnan (Lead), Anne Li
Business: Enya Lu (Lead), Elaine Park
Staff Writers: Tanvi Dutta Gupta, Peter Maldonado, Christopher Maximos, Angela Lee, Enya Lu, Alessandro Vecchiato, Rayan Krishnan
Contributing Writers: Hannah Scott, Harith Khawaja, Smiti Mittal