Marketplace All-in-One Wikipedia co-founder: Trust and empathy are essential
Oct 28, 2025
In this insightful discussion, Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia and author of The Seven Rules of Trust, delves into the importance of trust and transparency in today's digital age. He explains how Wikipedia's open editing fosters community cooperation and quality information. Wales sheds light on the decline of institutional trust and the contrasting roles of community governance versus social media moderation. He also shares his optimism about AI's potential while cautioning against its misuse. Plus, a sprinkle of humor with a dad joke rounds out the conversation!
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Open Trust Scales Quality
- Wikipedia's openness depends on trusting the general public to contribute constructively.
- Jimmy Wales highlights that extending trust broadly can produce high-quality, cooperative outcomes despite online toxicity.
Prioritize Trust From Day One
- Founders should prioritize trust-building early rather than after a crisis.
- Jimmy Wales uses Airbnb's response to a trust breach as a cautionary example to take trust seriously from the start.
Trust Loss Threatens Institutions
- Trust has fallen across politics, journalism, and business, fueling societal breakdowns.
- Wales argues Wikipedia's rise in trust offers lessons for rebuilding cultural trust and averting authoritarian trends.
