Why trust is essential for a successful energy transition

In an age of AI and automation, Peter Bronski believes it's important to remember that human beings are still the decision makers, and these decisions will ultimately help drive the energy transition.

The founder and CEO of Inflection Point Agency emphasizes 'trust' as being a critical part of the energy conversation.

"Trust underpins everything that we do from a decision making standpoint. Spreadsheets and now artificial intelligence inform decisions but they don't make decisions..."

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Bronski explained that trust and confidence are fundamental elements used to decide whether we say yes or no to a solution that could directly impact the energy transition.

There are two main areas where trust is failing:

• Passive trust issues - due to persistent misinformation such as an industry myth,
• Active disinformation - proactive opposition to low carbon solutions.

This can be disseminated through social media, but of course, said Bronski, the age of AI is creating new frontiers for sources of information.

Bronski explained: "It is now cheaper and faster and easier to produce misinformation and disinformation than it has been before and because that misinformation is ubiquitous, it has made all of us...suspicious of the information with which we are presented."

And when communities, for example, lose trust in the information, they start to question the solutions as well, added Bronski.

For example, local communities, where new renewable projects are to be situated, will be influenced by information and rather than evaluating a project on its true merits, they consider the misinformation that's been spread.

When asked how to address this, Bronski highlighted the need for the "authenticity and integrity of information."

"We also need to come back to the roots of building relationships with human beings..."

And if he could pick one solution to solve the challenge: "I wish I could make AI go away...AI is ubiquitous and I understand the powerful tool that it can be..at the same time I see the undermining role that it can have..."

Listen to the full conversation with Pete Bronski in this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast