Part 2/15:
One speaker emphasized the erosion of trust within institutions, including governments, corporations, and civil society organizations. Since the 1970s, particularly, there has been a slow yet persistent decline in societal confidence towards these institutions. This distrust is mirrored in the way democratic nations like the U.S., U.K., and others have ramped up surveillance— TSA searches, airport profiling, and expansive legal frameworks—creating a culture where privacy feels compromised and surveillance normalized.