There was a time when the most trusted keeper of secrets was the local priest. People confessed their fears, failures and deepest regrets, confident that whatever was shared in confidence would remain protected. Doctors, lawyers and journalists later earned similar trust through professional ethics that placed confidentiality above all else.
Today, our most intimate confessions are no longer whispered across a wooden booth. They are typed into search engines, shared with AI assistants, stored in banking apps, recorded by fitness trackers and submitted through government portals. The modern-day priest is no longer a person but the digital systems we rely on every day.
Artificial intelligence has accelerated this transformation. Millions now seek career advice from AI, discuss health concerns with chatbots, manage finances through mobile apps and entrust smart devices with details of their daily routines.
These technologies know where we travel, what we buy, how we sleep, whom we communicate with and, increasingly, what we think. In many cases, they know more about us than our closest friends and family.
Kenya is no exception. From mobile banking and digital lending to eCitizen services, online learning and AI-powered customer support, digital platforms have become part of everyday life. Every convenience requires users to surrender another layer of personal information, creating an expanding network of trust.
Yet many digital products were built around a simple principle: collect as much data as possible, then decide later how to use or protect it. In the AI era, that approach is becoming increasingly difficult to defend. The real question is no longer whether organisations can collect personal data, but whether they should.
While laws such as Kenya’s Data Protection Act provide an essential legal framework, compliance alone does not inspire confidence. Trust is earned through responsible choices made long before an audit or regulatory inspection. That is why Privacy by Design is emerging as a strategic business advantage.
Organisations that collect only necessary data, build security into products from the outset and remain transparent about data use are more likely to earn lasting customer confidence.
As AI becomes our adviser, assistant and confidant, society must expect more than innovation. We must demand stewardship.
The organisations that will lead in the AI era will not simply be those with the smartest technology, but those that prove themselves worthy of safeguarding the trust people once reserved for their most trusted confidants.