Working Paper (SSRN)
The Trust Stack: How We Rebuild Credibility Online
In a world of deepfakes, AI-generated robocalls, and fabricated media, the internet has no native trust layer. This paper proposes building one. Starting from the observation that social media algorithms were designed to maximize engagement — not truth — it argues for a layered "trust stack": a provenance layer using cryptographic signatures to verify content origin and editing history; a semantic layer using AI to assess the likelihood that claims are accurate; and a user-facing signal as intuitive as a browser padlock. Drawing on behavioral science and analogies from HTTPS adoption, nutrition labeling, and Creative Commons licensing, the paper outlines how a Trust-as-a-Service infrastructure could be built, funded, and deployed — and why doing so is urgent.
Read on SSRN →