The Economics of Trust: Chapter Guide
A chapter guide for The Economics of Trust (Book 3 in the When Intelligence Became Cheap series). Version: 2026-07. The Volume 3 Practicum is organized into three houses instead of one page per chapter: protection, verifiable evidence, and the compass. Use this index to move from a chapter in the book to its practice on the site.
The full route is in the Book 3 Workbook. If time is short, start with its "Minimum trust package": five worksheets you can complete in one evening.
Part one. What broke
| Chapter | What you get | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Convincing does not mean authentic | The volume route and a minimum evening package for the moment when you want to verify everything | Book 3 Workbook, "Minimum trust package" |
| 2. Synthetic presence | A family check phrase, a conversation with parents and children, common call scams, and a printable card for the phone | Family trust protocol, the full worksheet |
| A second channel for expensive instructions at work | Personal trust perimeter, Section 1 | |
| 3. The reverse Turing test | A work trail created before an accusation: version history, drafts, and free ways to establish a date | Personal trust perimeter, Section 2 |
| What to do if someone accuses you, and what to check when you judge someone else | Personal trust perimeter, Section 2, "If someone accuses you" and "If you are the decision-maker" | |
| 4. Synthetic reputation | The first 24 hours of a review attack | Personal trust perimeter, Section 3 |
| Where to complain now and which platform rules apply | Trust and the law, "Where to report fake reviews and extortion" | |
| The other side: how to build a reputation people can verify without you | Trust footprint map | |
| 5. The distrust tax | A one-week account with four lines | Personal trust perimeter, Section 4 |
| The mirror: what it costs other people to deal with you | Personal trust perimeter, Section 4, "The mirror" |
Part two. How to repair it
| Chapter | What you get | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Verifiability instead of transparency | What a diploma, review, case study, demo, and audit really prove | Evidence package before a dispute, Section 5 |
| How much verification is enough for a video, a hire, or a payment | Evidence package before a dispute, Section 5 | |
| 7. Sign the authentic or catch the fake | How to check someone else's file and sign your own | Trust and the law, "Route: check someone else's file" and "Route: sign your own" |
| Personal provenance: six settings you can complete in one evening | Trust footprint map, Step 4 | |
| AI content labeling laws by country | Trust and the law, "Jurisdictions" | |
| 8. Money for agents | A fillable table for independent purchases, a monthly cap, and payment cancellation | Family trust protocol, Section 5 |
| Who is responsible for an agent's error: cases, payment networks, and laws | Trust and the law, "Who is responsible for an agent's error?" | |
| 9. Trust inside | A register of bots that speak for the company and a hiring protocol | Trust inside the company, the full worksheet |
| 10. Who decides what to believe | The first day with an important file | Chain of custody, the full worksheet |
| What a bank, newsroom, or court needs | Trust and the law, "Three doors" | |
| Evidence packages for different situations | Evidence package before a dispute, Section 3 |
Part three. What gains value
| Chapter | What you get | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| 11. The authenticity premium | This chapter has no separate worksheet. It explains why verifiable work gains value. The next chapter provides the practice | Trust footprint map |
| 12. Authenticity capital | Three anchors across four channels and one move for the month | Trust footprint map, the full worksheet |
| A one-page client statement: where the machine works, where a person steps in, and who is responsible | An honest AI policy | |
| What an assistant says about you when someone asks it instead of a search engine | AI search visibility kit | |
| How to repair trust after it breaks | Trust repair protocol | |
| 13. Trust compass | Two territories, two sides, four norms, and space for one move | Trust compass, the full worksheet |
| A family conversation and a printable card for parents | Family trust protocol | |
| Epilogue. The handshake | No separate material is needed. Chapter 13 already gives you everything you can carry into action | None |
Live pages
Two pages change more often than the book. Check their verification dates:
- Trust and the law: recognition of digital files, labeling laws, file provenance, responsibility for an agent's error, and complaint routes.
- Fraud protections in Russia: written for readers who bank there. If you do not, the page points you to the country-neutral equivalents.
If you did not start with Volume 1
Each volume stands on its own, but each has a different entry point:
- Book 1, The Human Edge: your work, what is getting cheaper, and what is gaining value. Book 1 Workbook.
- Book 2, Business in the Age of AI Agents: teams, processes, and customers. Book 2 Workbook.
- Book 3, The Economics of Trust: what to believe and how to support your own claims. You are here. Start with the minimum trust package.