The word trust is shorthand, and people tend to think it means something like, ‘the probability that you will do what you say you will do is high’. But I think that’s incomplete and we can can go a layer deeper by asking why… Why is it desirable that you do what you say you will?

When we say, “You can trust me”, what we’re really saying is, “A future state of your consciousness will be desirable if bet on me.”

Or more simply, “stick with me and you’ll have a good experience”.

Trust is a present day bet for future desirable neurochemicals.

If I trust you and you come through, I am rewarded by my brain with chemicals that result in a desirable state of consciousness; a sense of belonging, safety, community, and so on.

If I trust you and you fail to come through, I suffer a reward-prediction error and I suffer a number of undesirable states of consciousness; disappointment, betrayal, anger and so forth.

Trust, and what happens with it, are simply levers that affect how we experience being in the world.

If we see cues or hints that you or your product will put our future consciousness into an undesirable state, then we will avoid you and your products.

Trust is simply a bet within an experience economy.