The House of Kitch team attended the big reveal of the Australian launch of the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer today.
We appreciate Edelman’s generosity in inviting us along! There were so many insights we gained from the research and panel.
Here is our summary of what we learnt.
There is a new paradox at the heart of society, with rapid innovation and great opportunity on one side of the coin, but risks exacerbating trust issues on the flipside.
Australians are more likely than any other country (except for the US) to say that society is changing too quickly and in a way that won’t benefit them.
There is a lot of distrust – with metrics showing 59% of people surveyed believed that Government Leaders; Business Leaders; and Journalists and Reporters are purposely trying to mislead people.
Acceptance of innovation is being threatened by distrust - with 50% of Australians feeling that innovation is poorly managed. Of those Australians who feel innovation is being mismanaged, 65% say that tech is leaving them behind. This is in turn exacerbating divisions already prevalent in society.
Australia trails APAC for trust in AI - 53% of Australians reject AI (compared to 15% in support). Globally when people see AI innovation is well managed, they are more likely to embrace AI than when they feel it is poorly managed.
So who do we trust? Interestingly, Peers (73%) are on par with Scientists (71%) on trustworthiness to tell the truth about new innovations and technologies.
Australians want technical experts (69%) and scientists (67%) to lead on the introduction of innovation in Australia.
There is significant demand for public-private partnership - 55% said they would trust business more with technology-led changes if it partnered with government. 50% of Australians expect CEOs to manage changes occurring in society, not just in their business.