As frontier technologies accelerate, Charlotte Bass, associate director at Hotwire Global, explores the growing divide between innovation and understanding.

A widening gap exists in the digital age, but it's not just about access or infrastructure; it's about understanding. 

On one side, business leaders are pushing to deploy AI and other frontier technologies, seeing them as critical to their bottom line. On the other stands the public, forced to navigate a rapidly changing world with little insight into how these technologies will shape their lives. The result? A growing disconnect that threatens the success of innovation.

Earlier this year, Hotwire's Frontier Tech Confidence Tracker surveyed over 8,000 members of the public and 730 business leaders across five European countries. The findings highlighted a stark difference in sentiment: business leaders reported an average confidence score of 77 out of 100 when adopting new technologies, while the public scored just 48. The result is a 29-point gap in perception, heightened by a lack of trust. 

Compounding this, Ofcom’s 2024 Media Literacy Report found that 44% of UK adults don't feel that they could confidently identify AI in the online content they consume. Similarly, nearly half the population is unsure whether the information they see, or the decisions affecting them, are shaped by algorithms. Meanwhile, across boardrooms and conferences, AI is championed as the future. 

No wonder trust is lagging. The problem isn't just a lack of knowledge, it’s a fundamental disconnect in how technology is introduced and understood. 

Many of today’s technologies were once considered fictional. AI, quantum computing, and automation existed in stories and on film, but few people thought they’d navigate the journey from the page to reality. It’s one reason the public find it hard to separate reality from the extraordinary. The truth is technology is not as it was imagined in film and books. Your computer isn’t about to morph into HAL 9000. The reality is more mundane; it’s deciding insurance premiums, filtering job applications, and shaping content recommendations. Most of the time, it operates unseen.

Being unseen is often the aim for technologists, with seamless integration regarded as the pinnacle of good design. Unfortunately, invisibility comes at a cost. Systems that operate in the background lack accountability. The result is a world where people feel decisions are made by machines they never chose, using data they never knowingly shared, in ways they barely comprehend. That isn’t just unsettling, it undermines trust.

There was a time when major tech innovations launched with global fanfare. Think of Steve Jobs unveiling the iPhone. Now, tech updates arrive quietly, and we don’t know until after the fact. In April for instance, Meta embedded AI search into its platform without announcement. The fanfare came afterward, when users noticed, questioned the purpose, and wondered what it meant for them. 

This is the illusion of informed participation. The public is told their views matter, yet they aren’t brought along for the journey. Without transparency and conversation, the disconnect grows, fuelled by scepticism. 

Another reason for the widening gap is the belief that the best technologists are also the best communicators. 

Hotwire’s research revealed a striking contrast: business leaders see tech entrepreneurs as the most credible voices on frontier technology, but the public is 29 points less likely to trust them. It’s a shame but a fact that technologists excel at problem-solving yet often struggle to convey the human impact of their work. Where they view the world through the lens of efficiency and optimisation, the public experiences it as a life to be lived. That difference generates friction and, ultimately, resistance. 

So, who does the public trust? The research found that scientists and researchers rank are considered most trustworthy, with 43% of the public identifying them as reliable sources on frontier technology. They also rank second among business leaders, with 49% recognising their credibility. Communicators, pay attention!

If progress no longer guarantees trust, then how technology is introduced must change.  It’s not enough to just disclose that AI is being used, or to rely on marketing to shape public perception. Customers want to understand how these systems impact them, and for that to happen, there needs to be conversation. 

Brands should be creating spaces where people feel safe to ask questions and express their doubts without feeling foolish. It’s a simple but effective way to build understanding and strengthen the brand-customer relationship.

The future is arriving fast, but speed without understanding is a recipe for resistance. If innovation is to be embraced, businesses must slow down. Technology should feel empowering. It should make people’s lives easier and give them joy. But it can only do this if users see themselves as part of the journey.

People do not want to be passive recipients of change. They want to be co-authors of a world – their world – shaped by technology.