The Use of Trust in Social Machines

Arpit Merchant, Tushant Jha, Navjyoti Singh

Abstract: Trust plays an important role in the effective working of Social Machines by allowing for cooperative behaviour amongst human and digital components of the system. A detailed study of trust helps in gaining insights into the working of social machines, and allows designers to create better systems which are able to engage more people and allow for efficient operations. In this paper, we undertake a discussion on the variety of ways in which trust can be observed in Social Machines by outlining a three class taxonomy (personal, social and functional). We build upon earlier observations in past literature while seeking a broader definition. We discuss the problem of trust, that of promoting trust amongst the trustworthy in social machines, and present the various insights, challenges and frontiers that arise in response. This includes the role of institutions, communication processes and value aligned technologies in social, personal and functional trust respectively.