University of Toronto Press (@uoftpress.bsky.social)

𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘃𝘀. 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗮: 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 The traditional change management playbook doesn't work for AI. When you implement systems that make consequential decisions about performance and work—in ways even their designers can't explain—trust either expands or breaks. There's no middle ground. What if the difference between AI implementations that build trust versus those that destroy it comes down to one question: Who gets to participate in the decisions? David Eliot, PhD candidate and author of Artificially Intelligent: The Very Human Story of AI, joins Kim Bohr with a stark reality: 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱. Drawing on SparkEffect's Trust Study showing AI-driven systems among the most disruptive forces to employee trust, they reveal the dangerous gap between who builds AI and who lives with its consequences. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲: Google's failed Toronto smart city versus Barcelona's thriving democratic smart city. Same technology. Opposite outcomes. The difference? Transparency, inclusion, and who controlled the decisions. 🎯 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗹𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻: ✅ Why confusion in AI serves those in power—and how to cut through it with foundational knowledge ✅ The "history of the present" concept: Why AI really starts in 700 AD with algorithms, not ChatGPT ✅ Barcelona's invisible smart city success: How democratic decision-making and hidden technology created thriving infrastructure ✅ Google Toronto's failure: What happens when corporate values clash with public good and opacity replaces transparency ✅ The entry-level pipeline crisis: How AI automation threatens your future leadership bench ✅ Why retooling ≠ deskilling: The dangerous parallel to Industrial Revolution factory work ✅ AI as amplifier: How the same technology magnifies both society's problems AND its solutions ✅ Hope in the data: Medical breakthroughs, accessibility gains, and freeing humans from dehumanizing work ⏱️ 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗦: 00:00 - Introduction: Why the traditional playbook fails for AI 02:14 - The democracy problem: Tech executives dominate AI Advisory boards 06:47 - History of the present: Understanding AI from its algorithmic roots 17:23 - Tale of two cities: Barcelona's success vs. Google Toronto's failure 20:10 - Barcelona's invisible technology: Democratic smart city design 25:52 - Job displacement reality: The over-hiring excuse and automation claims 32:01 - Pipeline crisis: "We're going to run out of the well to promote from within" 34:07 - Why hope matters: The positive amplifications we're overlooking 37:32 - The future vision: Designing society that makes us more human 👤 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧: 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘁 is a PhD candidate at the University of Ottawa researching the social and political effects of AI. Author of Artificially Intelligent: The Very Human Story of AI, he makes complex AI concepts accessible to non-technical audiences. David serves on the board of a literacy charity in Canada and has advised organizations on AI implementation. 🔗 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱: 📖 Get the book: Artificially Intelligent: The Very Human Story of AI 📚 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗖𝗘𝗦: 📊 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 - 71% faced AI-driven disruption; only 36% emerged stronger: https://www.sparkeffect.com/trust-report 🎙️ 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 - More episodes on trust-driven leadership: https://www.couragetoadvancepodcast.com 📘 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 - Tools from this episode: https://www.couragetoadvancepodcast.com 💼 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 - Transform your organizational culture: https://www.sparkeffect.com 💡 𝗞𝗘𝗬 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗬: Your AI implementation is a choice between two paths. The corporate path: opacity, technology-first, decisions made by those who profit from confusion. The democratic path: transparency, human-first, decisions made by those who live with the consequences. Barcelona proved the democratic path works—hidden technology, citizen voting, tree placement determined by data that serves the public good. Google Toronto failed because corporate values couldn't align with city purposes. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁 𝗔𝗜. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝘁. 🎧 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗔𝗗𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘: Hosted by Kim Bohr, President & COO of SparkEffect. We explore how leaders build organizations where humans thrive—featuring executives who refuse to accept that business has to be dehumanizing. Based on SparkEffect's Trust Performance Index research. New episodes every Tuesday 🔔 Subscribe so you don't miss the next conversation. 🔗 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧: SparkEffect: https://sparkeffect.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sparkeffect/ Trust Report: https://www.sparkeffect.com/trust-report Podcast Website: https://www.couragetoadvancepodcast.com/ #AIImplementation #OrganizationalTrust #HRLeadership #AITransformation #ChangeManagement #SmartCities #DemocraticAI #TrustElasticity #FutureOfWork Courage to Advance is produced by SparkEffect © 2025 https://bit.ly/44pbQee