Conceptualising Public Trust in High-Risk AI Policymaking: A Comparative Analysis of Three Asian Cities

How do we develop trust in artificial intelligence (AI), which can threaten our fundamental rights or might cause physical harm? This article proposes a governance-centred framework and argues that trust in high-risk AI systems is a function not only of the features of the technology and personal traits but is also a function of trust in institutions under which they operate. The article tests and compares the validity of the framework using 3,600 online survey responses in Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo. The results show the significant differences in patterns of institutional trust that directly affect the degree of trust in high-risk AI in the three cities.