Exploring Trust in the Age of AI

Back To Work

NJI

Exploring Trust in the Age of AI

Tech
AI
Experiences

NJI and Shadow Search gathered 20 leaders across business, policy, media, communications, and culture at Washington, D.C.’s Patterson Mansion for an intimate salon dinner exploring trust and authenticity in the age of AI.

Across five courses, guests encountered human-created and AI-generated elements woven throughout the evening. Some were obvious. Some were intentionally harder to spot. The experience gave guests a chance to question their own assumptions about what felt real, what felt artificial, and whether knowing the difference actually changed their reaction.

The details around the dinner mattered just as much. Invitations, seating, pacing, service, and conversation prompts were carefully considered to create an environment where people could be curious, candid, and fully present.

One question guided the evening:

When AI can create almost anything, what still earns trust?

People sit around a U-shaped table set with glasses in a dimly lit room with blue lighting, engaged in conversation. A glowing light fixture and a backlit panel are visible in the background.

Goal

We wanted to take the AI conversation beyond the tools and capabilities and explore the questions communicators and leaders are increasingly facing around trust, judgment, and human connection.

Instead of a traditional panel or presentation, we designed an experience where guests could engage with those questions firsthand and talk about them with people coming from very different industries or points of view.

A person with long hair holds up a paddle that says “NO” at a formal dinner table, with several people seated in the background.

A man in a suit and bow tie laughs and gestures while talking to two people at an indoor event with purple lighting.

A square dinner table set for an event, surrounded by chairs, with place cards, wine glasses, and cutlery. A illuminated “WELCOME” sign is visible in the background. The room has warm, elegant lighting.

A group of people sit at a table, smiling and laughing in a warmly lit indoor setting, suggesting a joyful social or formal event.

A group of people sit around a large, elegant dinner table in a warmly lit room. A screen in the background displays the word “WELCOME.” Glassware and place settings are arranged on the table.

A woman with long blonde hair smiles while seated at a formal dinner table, surrounded by wine glasses and softly lit by purple and pink lighting. Other guests are blurred in the background.

People at a formal dinner table hold up signs reading “YES” and “NO,” appearing to vote or make decisions, while smiling and socializing. There are wine glasses and table cards on the table.

Two people work at a desk with laptops and audio equipment. A large monitor displays a surveillance view of a conference room. Cables and electronics cover the workspace.

Strategy

The evening started with a simple prompt: Can you tell?

We layered human-created and AI-generated elements throughout the experience and deliberately left some ambiguity around what guests were seeing, hearing, and experiencing.

That gave the conversation room to develop naturally. Guests compared reactions, questioned assumptions, and debated whether knowing how something was created changed how they valued it.

The setting and hospitality were an important part of that. We wanted the evening to feel like a great dinner first, with enough experimentation built in to keep people curious and give them something worth talking about.

A silver fork and knife rest on a square, ornate silver plate with a printed card labeled “DOSSIER” underneath, all set against a black background.

A gold tray holds wine glasses, a small bowl of round snacks, and two stacks of napkins with text: “What makes something authentic?” and “Is AI already conscious?”.

A person in a white shirt, black tie, and black apron with “Human / Machine” written on it holds a glass of white wine.

What came next

The questions raised questions we wanted to explore with a broader audience.

NJI partnered with Stack Data Strategy to survey U.S. voters on how AI is changing what they trust, what feels authentic, and where synthetic content starts to cross a line.

The research gave us a clearer picture of something we had heard throughout the evening:

As AI becomes more prevalent, people are paying closer attention to authenticity.

See the Research Results

3 in 4

PREFER A REAL CUSTOMER, EMPLOYEE, OR EXPERT OVER AN ACTOR OR AI-GENERATED PERSON.

Bipartisan Trust

CROSSES POLITICAL LINES WITH HARRIS AND TRUMP VOTERS PRIORITIZING THE SAME FUNDAMENTALS: ACCURACY, AUTHENTICITY, AND TRANSPARENCY.

Authenticity

RISES TO THE TOP AMONG YOUNGER AUDIENCES WHO USE AI TOOLS MOST.

Five illustrated cards with detailed black-and-white portraits of people are arranged on a round, silver platter against a black background. Each card has text at the top and bottom.

A person with glasses looks at printed photos on a desk, sitting in front of a laptop displaying image files.

Takeaway

AI gives communicators more ways to create, experiment, and engage audiences. The research also points to clear expectations around the work: people care whether information is accurate, who is behind it, and whether what they are seeing feels genuine.

For us, the dinner and the research reinforced the value of being thoughtful about where AI belongs in an experience and where human judgment, real stories, and personal connection carry more weight.

That is a conversation we plan to keep exploring.