The podcast explores how we build, break, and rebuild trust in a world shaped by accelerating technology and artificial intelligence. Hosted by Eva Simone Lihotzky, AI adoption and ethics expert with 12+ years of experience in tech, the podcast creates in-depth conversations at the intersection of AI, business, ethics, and human connection. Through various lenses - across business, politics, neuroscience, tech and systems thinking in organizations - it hosts expert conversations for you to deep dives into one of the complex topics we need to solve as a society and beyond.
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Innovation Sovereignty: Trust, Technology, and the Future of Europe - EP07
Season 7 · Episode 7
Friday, September 12, 2025 • Duration 30:18
Summary
In this episode of the in-between trust podcast, Eva Simone Lihotzky explores innovation sovereignty with the generative AI and cloud expert Sergiu Petean. Their conversation moves through topics about bravery in decision-making, technological sovereignty, and the potential of open-source solutions to drive European collaboration. Together, the speakers reflect on how trust underpins innovation, leadership, and value creation — and why we must treat technology not as a commodity, but as a shared, strategic asset. This episode is a call to act with urgency, integrity, and clarity in shaping the digital and political systems of tomorrow.
🔑 Takeaways
Trust is the foundation of quality in relationships
Building a culture of trust requires hard conversations
Bravery enables authentic decisions and personal growth
Sovereignty is key to innovation and digital self-determination
Open source can foster collaboration and shared progress in Europe
Regulation helps shape ethical tech innovation
Trust is essential for European collaboration
Technology can be connective — or divisive
Leaders need technological literacy for future decisions
Europe must act now on digital sovereignty
🎙️ Sound Bites
"Trust for me is the foundation of quality." "We need to be more courageous."
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 The Foundation of Trust 05:11 Understanding Sovereignty 09:13 Cultural Sovereignty and Innovation 11:06 The Role of Regulation in Sovereignty 13:09 Building Trust in Europe 15:10 Technology as a Connector or Divider 17:37 The Power of Open Source 19:27 Creating Communities in Open Source 22:42 Leadership for the Future 26:27 The Value of Technology in Organizations 29:39 In-Between Moments and Reflections
💻 Links
in-between trust on Instagram: @inbetween_trust More about [Guest Name or Organization]: [insert link]
🔭 Keywords
trust, bravery, sovereignty, innovation, open source, regulation, technology, collaboration, leadership, value creation
Rebuilding Trust: Tech, Politics, and Entrepreneurial Leadership - EP06
Season 1 · Episode 6
Thursday, August 28, 2025 • Duration 36:29
🎙️ With Josef Lentsch – Political Entrepreneur, CEO of the Political Tech Summit, author & Managing Partner at the Innovation in Politics Institute
Summary
In this episode of the in-between trust podcast, Eva Simone Lihotzky speaks with political entrepreneur Josef Lentsch about the transformation of democracy through innovation, leadership, and trust. From co-founding the NEOS party in Austria to building the Political Tech Summit, Josef shares his perspective on political entrepreneurship as a practice of systemic change. Together, they explore the erosion and rebuilding of trust in political systems, the role of AI in democratic communication, and how technology can support—not replace—citizen engagement. The conversation highlights how leadership, transparency, and adaptability are key to restoring trust across systems and borders.
🔑 Takeaways
Political entrepreneurship is about building systems that scale trust.
Trust reduces friction — in both governance and society.
Authentic leadership is core to meaningful political transformation.
Technology can support, but not substitute, democratic dialogue.
Political startups create new paths for citizen participation.
Rebuilding trust requires both structural reform and cultural change.
Cross-border collaboration is key to political innovation in Europe.
AI must be governed with integrity to support political legitimacy.
🎙️ Sound bites
“Trust makes democracy efficient — and possible.” “We need to build better models.” “Political tech is not a silver bullet, but it’s part of the solution.”
⏱️
Neurochemistry of Trust: Lessons from Molecules to Medicine - EP05
Season 1 · Episode 5
Thursday, August 21, 2025 • Duration 30:40
with Julia Löffler – Scientist in Molecular Medicine, Neuroscience & Science Communication at the Charité in Berlin
Summary In this episode of the in-between trust podcast, Eva Simone Lihotzky speaks with Julia Löffler about the biological, neurological, and relational foundations of trust — and why trust is as much a somatic experience as it is a cognitive one. They explore Julia’s journey from molecular medicine into neuroscience and science communication, the role of empathy in scientific work, and how biology and technology move on fundamentally different timelines. The conversation dives into the chemistry of trust, the tension between innovation speed and human adaptation, and the importance of translating science into language people can understand and act on. Julia shares why dynamic relationships, transparency, and adaptive learning are key to building trust in both medicine and technology.
🔑 Takeaways
Trust is the essential currency in science and medicine.
Biology and neurochemistry — from oxytocin to cortisol — shape trust.
Communication is a core skill in translating science into action.
Technology must adapt to the natural pace of biology.
Trust is dynamic and built over time through relationships.
Advancing knowledge does not guarantee immediate understanding.
Digital and physical systems must both account for human trust needs.
Adaptive learning is essential for responding to uncertainty.
🎙️ Sound bites
“Trust is built on dynamic relationships.” “Biology runs on its own time.” “Advancing knowledge does not always mean immediate understanding.”
00:00 Introduction to Biology, Neuroscience & Trust03:12 Julia’s Journey from Molecular Medicine to Communication06:24 The Neurochemistry of Trust09:15 Bridging Gaps Between Science, Patients & the Public13:02 Technology vs. Biological Timelines16:38 Trust as an Adaptive, Dynamic Process20:05 The Role of Empathy in Scientific Work23:27 Translating Complexity into Accessible Language27:41 Future of Trust in Science and Technology30:15 In-Between Moments and Reflections
with Karel J. Golta - Founder & Managing Director, INDEED Innovation
Summary
In this episode of the In-Between Podcast, Eva Simone Lihotzky engages in a deep conversation with Karel J. Golta about the intersection of circular innovation, humane design, and trust. They explore Karel's journey into circular innovation, the importance of empathy in design, and how trust is a crucial element in creating sustainable systems. The discussion also delves into the shift from linear to circular systems, the need for long-term thinking, and the role of collaboration in fostering trust within communities. Karel emphasizes the importance of designing for continuity and ambiguity, and how these principles can lead to a more regenerative future. The conversation concludes with reflections on the value of trust in design and the courage required to innovate responsibly.
🔑 Takeaways
Karel's journey into design began in childhood with Lego.
Humane innovation prioritizes people, planet, and purpose equally.
Trust is built through the intent behind design.
Design communicates values without explicit words.
Circular systems require transparency and accountability.
Shifting to circular models demands a moral responsibility.
Designers should view users as co-creators, not targets.
Design for continuity rather than just beginnings.
Trust comes from consistency, clarity, and care.
Value in a regenerative model is about enabling rather than taking.
🎙️ Sound bites
"Trust is built or broken by intent."
Translating Ethics: Trust, Compliance & the Culture of Responsibility - EP03
Season 1 · Episode 3
Thursday, August 7, 2025 • Duration 31:35
with Paula Cipierre, Responsible AI Expert & Strategist
In this episode of the in-between trust podcast, Eva Simone Lihotzky speaks with Paula Cipierre, one of the leading responsible AI strategists with a profound background in law, policy, and tech, about what it means to translate legal and ethical principles into organizational practice - and how trust must be built not just through systems, but through culture, clarity, and human connection.
Together, they explore:
Why trust needs control, not just promises
How to create a culture of compliance that doesn’t collapse into checkboxes
The tension between data governance and intelligent systems
What it takes to operationalize values across teams, languages, and sectors
Why interdisciplinary thinking and empathy are foundational leadership skills in the age of AI
With insight from law, humanities, and hands-on tech policy work, Paula brings a rare perspective to ethical AI - one rooted in systems and storytelling.
🔑 Takeaways
Trust in AI depends on both transparency and institutional reliability
Compliance isn’t the goal - culture is
Regulation can enable innovation if done with clarity
Data governance and bias mitigation start long before AI
AI literacy is critical to confident, responsible use
Responsibility requires interdisciplinary skill and local ownership
Leadership means acting with explainability, not just authority
People follow people - trust starts with example
🎙️ Quote Highlights
Staying in the Driver’s Seat: Ethical AI and Leadership in Practice - EP02
Thursday, July 31, 2025 • Duration 30:36
“Slow trust builds faster futures.”
with Stefan Schoepfel, Founder of the Value AI Institute
In this episode of the in-between trust podcast, Eva Simone Lihotzky speaks with Stefan Schoepfel, founder of the Value AI Institute, about how we lead—and trust—in an era shaped by intelligent systems. They explore what it means to embed ethical principles, emotional intelligence, and leadership clarity into AI development and deployment.
Stefan shares why trust must take a much larger space in the conversation, how unlearning linear thinking unlocks innovation, and how responsibility must move beyond compliance toward genuine accountability. From governance to culture, this episode is a call to stay human—and stay in the driver’s seat.
___
🔑 Takeaways
Trust is foundational for user acceptance and systemic success.
Ethical principles must guide both design and deployment.
AI leadership requires emotional intelligence and clear oversight.
Organizations must embed ethics into processes—not just policies.
Responsible tech can support sustainability and the societal good.
Unlearning linear thinking is key to adapting and leading.
Ongoing trust-building requires visibility and cultural buy-in.
AI systems must always include human-in-the-loop safeguards.
Compliance should enable—not hinder—innovation.
Don’t let tech steer blindly—stay in control.
__
🎙️ Sound Bites
“Trust needs to take a much larger space.”“AI must comply with ethical principles.”“Stay in the driver's seat with technology.”“Unlearning is as vital as innovation.”“Leadership in AI means embracing ambiguity.”
Trust by Code: AI Governance and the Human Layer - EP01
Season 1 · Episode 1
Tuesday, July 22, 2025 • Duration 36:04
‚Truth by code is a strong asset‘ -
with Anna Spitznagel, CEO of trail.ai
In the first episode of the in-between trust podcast, Eva Simone Lihotzky speaks with Anna Spitznagel—co-founder and CEO of trail.ai—about building trust at the heart of AI governance. Anna shares her journey designing a “co-pilot” for responsible AI systems, and explores how transparency, organizational culture, and technical rigor intersect in shaping trustworthy innovation.
Together, they dive into what it means to build “truth by code,” how compliance can enable—not hinder—progress, and why literacy, leadership, and lived experience are essential in navigating the AI era. Anna also opens questions about the future of trust across ecosystems—from upstream model providers to everyday users.
⸻
🔑 Takeaways
Trust is the starting point for meaningful AI adoption.
Transparency and quality must be designed into both code and culture.
Responsible leadership requires communication, clarity, and tolerance for mistakes.
Literacy in AI is not optional—it’s foundational to ethical use.
Governance can be a growth engine, not just a constraint.
The best AI use cases start with real problems, not hype.
80% of AI projects don’t reach production—trust structures can change that.
Trust builds through use, experience, and critical questioning.
Future trust will require cooperation across the AI supply chain.
⸻
🎙️ Sound Bites
Tech and Democracy: How Can Both Be Connected to Create Trust? with Nexus Politics (EP 27)
Season 1 · Episode 27
Thursday, June 4, 2026 • Duration 31:08
🎙️ with Magnus Strobel, Co-Founder and CEO of Nexus Politics
Trust in politics has been eroding across Western democracies for over a decade, and Magnus Strobel thinks the failure is in how democracy works, in the process that has stopped feeling participatory. His company, Nexus Politics, is a for-profit platform built to map the distance between what citizens actually think and what politicians actually do - and to make that distance impossible to ignore.
🔍 Episode overview
This is a conversation about whether transparency can rebuild participation once the machinery of democracy has stopped feeling participatory. It is also about a quieter problem: how a founder building a trust instrument decides whether anyone actually trusts it.
Magnus Strobel and his team create an architecture for a digital democracy platform: how citizen opinion gets routed to the right political actors, how the system maps public sentiment in real time, and where accountability is supposed to live. The harder questions arrive underneath: Why build this as for-profit rather than not-for-profit, and why that choice is the one that makes political neutrality credible. What politicians say they want from such a tool, and why their enthusiasm might mean less compared to how they use it specifically. It is a founder's conversation that keeps circling back to a single uncertainty: you can build the mechanism for trust, but you cannot yet prove the trust is there.
⚖️ Key themes
Why the crisis is in how democracy functions, not in democracy itself - and what that distinction changes
How a for-profit structure becomes the argument for political neutrality
Mapping the gap between what voters think and what politicians do
What politicians actually want from civic tech, and why positive feedback is the hardest signal to trust
Tech as a tool that can repair democratic trust or deepen the damage, depending on who uses it and how
AI in China and in Europe: Trust, Differences, and Future Implications - Vincent Xiang, Founder China AI Connect (EP 26)
Season 1 · Episode 26
Thursday, May 28, 2026 • Duration 33:37
Europe and China are on different AI paths at different speeds. Vincent Xiang has spent years inside that corridor: He has been working as a translator between Chinese AI founders and European investors and corporates, and this conversation dives into his experiences, conversations, and operations on the ground and in-between.
🧭 Episode overview
European executives are excited about Chinese AI momentum. But they're also stuck before they act. Chinese founders interpret some of Europe's regulations as inefficiency. Both sides are operating with simplified labels that are accurate enough to feel right and wrong enough to produce bad decisions. Vincent walks through what he actually sees on the ground - why trust in China gets delegated to systems rather than built between strangers, why "AI superpower" and "surveillance dystopia" both miss the territory, why fragmentation is now treated as permanent reality by founders, and what European companies serious about engaging China should do before they book a single meeting.
🔍 Key themes discussed
The different first questions Europe and China ask about new technology, and what each one produces downstream
Trust as delegated infrastructure - the Alipay escrow story and why people trust the system rather than the strangers in it
Why both Western labels for Chinese AI are wrong in the same direction, and what gets missed when leaders operate with them
The three-layer coordination of government, platforms, and institutions in China, and what its absence looks like in Europe
Fragmentation as the new permanent reality, and why compliance has to be built in as a product feature from day one
👤 About the guest
Vincent Xiang is the founder of China AI Connect, a research and advisory practice helping European investors and corporates evaluate whether Chinese AI is relevant to their strategy, and helping Chinese founders understand the European market. He lived in Germany for seven years, writes the China AI Connect briefings on Chinese AI and deep-tech policy and players, and organises executive trips that bring European leaders to meet founders and operators on the ground. His vantage point is one of the few that sits genuinely between the two systems.
WEF26: The Politics of Tech, AI Agent Systems & Models, Adoption Challenges and Tech Sovereignty (EP 17)
Season 1 · Episode 17
Thursday, January 29, 2026 • Duration 32:41
Opening
This solo episode of The In-Between Tech & Trust Podcast reflects on conversations from Davos and what they reveal about where tech, politics, and trust are heading into 2026. It’s for leaders, operators, and policy-adjacent roles who are trying to make sense of AI adoption beyond tooling. The focus is on what actually changes inside organizations, institutions, and collaborations when AI becomes infrastructure.
🎧 Episode overview
Eva Simone Lihotzky unpacks four threads that kept resurfacing across discussions with tech, political, and business leaders: agentic AI systems, the politics of technology, sovereignty, and the future of collaboration and trust. Rather than reporting speeches, the episode explores tensions beneath the surface - why organizations feel urgency but struggle to act, how AI exposes institutional weaknesses instead of fixing them, and why governance, infrastructure, and responsibility are now inseparable.
The episode moves between business realities and geopolitical dynamics, asking what it really means to design AI-driven organizations, who shapes the rules when tech and politics are interwoven, and how dependence on a small set of platforms reshapes power, accountability, and autonomy.
🔍 Key themes discussed
Agentic AI systems and why they force a rethink of organizational design
AI adoption as a platform shift, not a tool rollout
The gap between AI urgency and practical implementation inside companies
World models vs. specialized models and why both matter
Interoperability as an unsolved infrastructure problem
Tech as both upstream and downstream of politics
Sovereignty across compute, infrastructure, data, operations, and talent
Europe’s position in an AI-driven power landscape
Chapters
00:00 The Concept of Political Entrepreneurship 04:25 The Importance of Trust in Democracy 10:17 Building Trust Through Political Startups 16:05 Leadership and Trust in Politics 22:32 The Role of AI in Political Communication 25:36 Navigating the Intersection of Tech and Politics 30:38 Hope Amidst Challenges in Democracy 36:40 In-Between Moments and Reflections
💻 Links
in-between trust on Instagram: @inbetween_trust More about Josef Lentsch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlentsch/
political entrepreneurship, trust in democracy, political startups, civic engagement, digital democracy, AI in politics, leadership and trust, political innovation, democratic systems, political tech
🔭 Keywords trust in science, neuroscience, molecular medicine, science communication, neurochemistry of trust, oxytocin, cortisol, adaptive learning, empathy in science, bridging disciplines, technology and biology, trust in medicine
"Design communicates values without words."
"Designers shape the way people see things."
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Circular Innovation and Trust
02:45 The Concept of Humane Innovation
05:50 Trust in Design and Circular Systems
08:51 Shifting from Linear to Circular Systems
12:02 Designing for Ambiguity and Continuity
14:25 Building Trust in Collaborative Systems
17:31 The Regenerative Future and Value Creation
20:27 Collaboration for a Sustainable Future
23:25 The Role of Trust in Community Building
26:42 In-Between Moments and Personal Reflections
💻 Links
in-between trust on instagram: @inbetween_trust
https://www.instagram.com/inbetween_trust/
More about Karel J. Golta: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karelgolta/
More about indeed innovation: https://www.indeed-innovation.com
🔭 Keywords
circular innovation, humane innovation, trust in design, sustainable systems, regenerative future, collaboration, community building, design for continuity, value creation, systems thinking
“Trust is good, but control is better.” “We need a much more integrated approach.” “Lead by example; people follow people.”
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 – From Humanities to Ethical AI 03:06 – Trust in Technology: The Role of Control 06:03 – Translating Ethics into Practice 09:01 – Compliance vs. Responsibility 11:45 – Cross-Sector Collaboration 14:39 – Regulation as a Tool for Innovation 17:43 – Data Governance in AI 20:42 – AI Literacy and Employee Empowerment 23:29 – Future Skills in AI Governance 26:48 – Sustainability and System Awareness 29:30 – Leading by Example
00:00 – Introduction to Trust and AI 02:21 – The Value AI Institute: Mission and Goals 05:28 – The Importance of Trust in AI 09:46 – Ethical Principles and Responsible AI Design 11:20 – Implementing Ethical AI in Organizations 14:06 – The Role of Leadership in AI Systems 16:20 – Building Trust in Teams and Systems 18:07 – Navigating Leadership Challenges with AI 19:24 – The Impact of AI on Ethical Usage 22:50 – AI for Societal Good and Sustainability 25:45 – Unlearning Linear Thinking in AI 28:19 – Embracing Ambiguity in AI Leadership 29:33 – Key Takeaways on Technology and Trust
___
🧩 Keywords
AI, trust, ethical AI, Value AI Institute, leadership, responsible tech, societal good, emotional intelligence, organizational culture, ambiguity, unlearning, governance
“Trust is my personal highest value.”
“Truth by code is a strong asset.”
“Literacy is key to understanding AI.”
“Governance is not a blocker—it’s an enabler of scale.”
⸻
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 – Introduction to AI Governance and Trust
01:38 – Defining Trust in AI
04:27 – Building Trust in Organizations
10:13 – The Role of Leadership in AI
12:51 – Designing for Transparency
18:58 – Navigating Use Cases & Compliance
23:14 – The Future of Trust in AI
30:45 – Unanswered Questions That Remain
⸻
🧩 Keywords
AI governance, trust, transparency, leadership, compliance, data privacy, organizational culture, literacy, AI use cases, critical reasoning, automation, future of AI
🤝 About the guest
Magnus Strobel is co-founder of Nexus Politics, a digital democracy platform built to rebuild participation and accountability in representative democracies. His background is in behavioral economics, which surfaces throughout the conversation in his attention to the gap between what a system is designed to do and what people actually do with it. He builds from Munich, embedded in the local startup ecosystem, with a stated ambition modelled partly on Taiwan's experience of using participation tools to lift satisfaction with democracy.
🌍 Chapter markers
[00:09] What comes to mind when a democracy founder thinks about trust
[02:59] Opening the fragmented machinery of politics - participation, transparency, accountability
[05:59] Why for-profit is the route to credible neutrality
[16:08] The hardest part is always reality - and what politicians really want
[22:49] Can tech rebuild democratic trust, or does it cut both ways
[35:48] In-between moments: trust, division, and where a founder sits right now
Related episode - Rebuilding Trust: Tech, Politics and Entrepreneurial Leadership (EP 06)
⏱️ Chapter markers
[00:55] The first word that comes to mind: difference
[05:00] People trust the system, not the strangers in it
[12:01] Why "AI superpower" and "surveillance dystopia" both miss the territory
[19:00] Three layers of coordination: government, platforms, institutions
[22:30] Fragmentation as permanent reality, and compliance as a product feature
[35:00] The robotics inflection and what favourable policy makes possible
🔗 Links
Vincent Xiang on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/yxiangeclille/
China AI Connect on Substack - https://vincentxiang.substack.com
AI 2030 / AI Plus initiative reference - https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/xw/zyjh/202509/t20250924_11715960.html
Related episode - Episode on Trust as Geopolitical Requirement: Eva's WEF 2026 recap - https://open.spotify.com/episode/1RKtxdJWXcQH8vnpnDtgEP?si=u_MfnmOvQ2-AXSPRONX6Gw
Why collaboration now depends on explicit commitments, not assumptions
How trust becomes harder - and more necessary - as systems scale
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