Who Controls Knowledge Now? Jimmy Wales,
Wikipedia’s Founder, on the Future of the Web – Part 2

Trust is no longer just a social issue; it’s a systemic one. AI, deepfakes, misinformation, and algorithmic incentives are reshaping how people understand reality, authority, and truth itself.

In Part 2 of this two-part conversation on FOMO Sapiens, Patrick McGinnis continues his dialogue with Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia and author of The Seven Rules of Trust, to explore what trust looks like in a world where information is increasingly synthetic, incentives are distorted, and attention is under constant assault.

Jimmy breaks down the structural forces eroding trust online, the governance challenges of building neutral platforms, and the difference between healthy skepticism and destructive cynicism. They examine how institutions lose legitimacy, how trust can be rebuilt faster than most people realize, and why purpose, transparency, and independence are no longer optional — they are survival mechanisms.

This episode explores:

• Trust in the age of AI and synthetic content
  
• Misinformation, deepfakes, and digital credibility
  
• Governance, neutrality, and platform responsibility
  
• How organizations lose and rebuild trust
  
• The Seven Rules of Trust as a leadership framework
  
• What founders and leaders must design first if trust is the differentiator

This is not a conversation about technology alone — it’s about leadership, human behavior, and the systems that shape how societies function. It’s about how trust survives disruption — and what it will take to protect it in the next chapter of the internet.

Meet Jimmy Wales:

Jimmy Wales is the founder of Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation. Named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People, he has been recognized by the World Economic Forum for his contributions to the global public good. He lives with his family in London.