🤝 Before the Prompt: Why Trust Determines Who Actually Uses AI

Every AI rollout is secretly a trust negotiation. Will your team trust the tool? Will they trust leadership’s intentions, and do leaders trust their people enough to grant real autonomy? While companies often budget heavily for new technology, they frequently fail to budget for the trust required to implement it—which is precisely why so many transformations stall. Drawing on insights from GLAAD’s 2026 AI report, this session explores how the LGBTQ+ community’s valid concerns regarding misinformation, privacy, and bias serve as a sophisticated stress-test for modern technology. Far from being “behind” on AI, these community perspectives offer the exact kind of critical scrutiny that leaders need to navigate the AI era successfully by shifting the narrative away from ultimatum of “adopting AI or being left behind”. We will explore mindsets, skillsets and toolsets for bridging the trust gap, turning employee skepticism into strategy, and creating trusted, inclusive environments that empower AI innovation.