Trust Seminar Series

Cross-disciplinary conversations with faculty at Northwestern and beyond.

The Birth of Modern Institutions in an Age of Violence and Mistrust

Ed Muir​ Clarence L. Ver Steeg Professor in the Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences

When Renaissance Italian city-states invented the new modes of trust that enable constitutional governance, judicial dispute resolution, and market economies, they did so in an era of violence, vendetta, and deep personal mistrust. How did these creative societies manage to transform trust and human behavior while murder lurked around every corner?

Why We Need to Trust Robots and Why They Need to Trust Us

Brenna Argall​ Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University McCormick School of Engineering; Assistant Professor, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine

Todd Murphey Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Brenna Argall and Todd Murphey discuss how we're being asked to trust technology more than ever before, from driverless cars to computerized personal assistants.

How The Blockchain Is Revolutionizing Trust Management in Peer-to-Peer Interactions

Moran Cerf​ Assistant Professor of Marketing at Kellogg School of Management

The Internet has been with us for over two decades now. It enables peer-to-peer interactions and anonymous interactions. It enables fast exchanges and distributed organization of people. Accordingly, because of this technology and the advance in cryptography in the last 3 decades it gives rise to a new mechanism for trust. Some already call the Blockchain the technology that will revolutionize the Internet, making it the "Internet of Trust."