As we strive for certainty in the management of the COVID-19 crisis, social distancing requirements is causing implicit trust to be suspended. What could this become if it were translated to the world of digital interconnectivity and we faced a crisis caused by a global computer virus? The reality is that “virtual distancing” will completely cripple the digital economy and we know that the tools available to the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) and other global technology cooperation bodies are far weaker than those available to the WHO in the event of an acute crisis. Bright Simons proffers that will require the best ideas from the worlds of sociology, philosophy, history, and public trust management, and not just computer science in order to achieve.
