Why Trust Is the Missing Link Between AI and ROI

Trust in AI: How Do You Build Trust That Creates Real Business Value?

Companies are pouring billions into AI, but investment alone doesn't deliver value. In this episode, Ben Parker sits down with Paul Drennan to unpack why trust is the missing link between AI spending and real business outcomes. They explore what builds — and breaks — trust in AI systems, how organisations can balance encouraging adoption with maintaining healthy scepticism, and why technically excellent AI can still fail without user confidence. From managing hallucination risks and human-in-the-loop decisions to measuring genuine ROI, Paul shares practical steps leaders can take within 90 days to move from AI experimentation to measurable, trusted results.

Timestamps:

1:59 — Quick introduction: Who is Paul Drennan?
4:25 — How much of the AI value problem comes down to trust?
8:26 — What needs to happen before employees and leaders are comfortable relying on AI?
13:13 — Can technically excellent AI still fail without trust and adoption?
15:35 — What are the biggest things that cause people to lose trust in AI?
16:34 — How should organisations manage the risk of convincing but wrong AI answers?
20:36 — Finding the balance between encouraging AI use and questioning its outputs
23:42 — Where should human judgement remain as organisations automate more decisions?
29:22 — What is the relationship between trust, adoption, and ROI?
33:12 — How should leaders measure genuine business value from AI initiatives?
34:40 — What should organisations put in place across technology, data, governance, and people?
43:25 — How should organisations continue testing and monitoring AI to maintain trust?
47:42 — What are successful organisations doing differently to build trust and adoption?
53:17 — The first meaningful action to improve trust and ROI in 90 days

Connect with guest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pauldrennan/

Connect with host: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben---parker/

Thank you for listening!