Rising distrust in 'expert' opinion maybe inevitable. What's driving it and what can we do about it?

Rising distrust in 'expert' opinion maybe inevitable. What's driving it and what can we do about it?

Studies such as The 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer has shown that across the world 'distrust in expert opinion in Governments, Media, NGOs and Financial institutions is rising. According to the report government was the least trusted institution, followed by the media, now distrusted in 82% of the countries surveyed' – https://www.edelman.com/trust-barometer.

But wait, has the role of the expert not always been an evolving one, undergoing constant metamorphosis to fit the spirit of the times? It is important perhaps to note that an understanding of the 'expert' as an all knowing human in whose words and actions (in relation to their field) personal opinion, interest or flaws should have little to no place is perhaps a very misleading one. Indeed, we have seen that human flaws and selfish interest has never really been that far removed from 'expert' opinion. Is it time we redefine our notion of 'expertness'?

Distrust in expert opinion, as I see it, is partly borne out of the demands of a rapidly changing world and partly the increasing interconnected of society fuelled by communication technologies. As communities evolve and the world becomes more connected, the expert is forced to transform into a form more suited to changed beliefs, knowledge, and morals of society.

Before, when everything happened behind closed doors and links between communities were limited, society lived with whatever the available 'expert' dished, many times costing lives and progress. With changing times and the advent of new technologies, especially digital communication technologies and increasing connectivity, everything has changed. The plethora of perspectives and the speed with which these can be cross-checked against others and context has grown enormously. However, it's important to note that in many disconnected parts of the world communities are still very vulnerable to the fallible opinion of the available 'expert', whatever the lived consequences.

Key global shocks such as the recent financial crisis that staggered economies across the world and the Ebola crisis in West Africa (see link below) have shown just how an insatiable drive for profit and personal gain can have catastrophic impacts on society and the chaos that follows when people lose trust in institutions that serve them. Meanwhile, as we become increasingly connected to a single web, technology companies are growing more powerful in their ability to commercialise our information and time spent on connected devices. Governments and political leaders are also seen taking bold strides to exploit this new phenomenon. The profit seeking arena created by the internet is making it increasingly challenging for us to sieve through between dubious advertising from true expert opinion.

When distrust meets poverty, corruption and poor education: lives are lost and even the potential benefits of increased connectivity could be reversed. The Ebola outbreak (in my country and the 2008/09 Financial crisis stand as clear testimonies of trust failing in society. Please see my post on distrust in leadership and the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone: http://newvisionforeducation.blogspot.com/2016/09/a-country-this-beautiful-deserves.html

With increasing exposure to the flawed and profit seeking expert many questions come to mind. How do we reconcile with its real impact in our daily lives? Should we expect to see a new evolution of what 'the expert' is and should be? What changes in our morals and systems of education will get young people most prepared? There are no simple answers here, yet the dangers of living in world increasingly distrustful of expert opinion cannot be overstated. We need urgent action. Science Trends suggests three ways we can rebuild trust in scientists (experts): 'first by making academic work, produced by experts and filled with facts and theories, more accessible and fun, thus also humanising experts. Second is to support organizations which connect the public to experts and finally experts should use social media and other public tools to speak directly to challenge misinformation campaigns'. Please see the full article for more details: https://sciencetrends.com/growing-public-mistrust-experts-digital-age/.

Rising distrust of expert opinion may only be the genesis of a new epoch that calls into question our very understanding of 'expert' and one that requires us to redefine our trust structures as a society. Indeed, a striking finding of The Edelman Trust Barometer study is the 'expectation that business stand up, engage and in many instances lead society on some of the more pressing issues of the day'. Is this a sign of shifting trust structures? I fully agree with The Edelman Barometer report's conclusion that “To rebuild trust and restore faith in the system, institutions must step outside of their traditional roles and work toward a new, more integrated operating model that puts people — and the addressing of their fears — at the center of everything they do”.

Finally, we must understand that in an increasingly globalized society, distrust in institutions in one country can have serious ramifications for lives far removed from the immediate environment of distrust. This means the rising distrust in institutions and expert opinion has to be seen as a global challenge needing global action.