TM Forum reveals AI trust gap: 72% of CSPs say their AI is trustworthy, only 14% can prove it

TM Forum CEO, Nik Willetts, reveals trustworthy AI gap threatens the autonomous enterprise, in DTW Ignite 2026 keynote

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, June 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Delivering the opening keynote at DTW Ignite 2026, TM Forum CEO Nik Willetts highlighted a stark finding from new industry research: while 72% of communication service providers believe their AI is trustworthy, only 14% can produce evidence to prove it.

The research, Why trust and assurance are key to AI success, was conducted by TM Forum Insights in partnership with IBM's Institute for Business Value and surveyed 130 AI decision-makers across 130 operators worldwide. Findings expose a dangerous blind spot in the industry's path to the autonomous enterprise. Communication Service Providers (CSPs) are accelerating toward autonomous flows across networks, IT, data and ecosystems, but many still lack the operational evidence needed to prove those flows can be trusted at scale.

"Trustworthiness is the number one driver of telco brand value worldwide, ahead of coverage and price" said Nik Willetts, in his keynote speech. “Get trust right, anything is possible. Get trust wrong, and nothing else matters.”

TM Forum announced the Race to 2030 at DTW Ignite, a strategy to help CSPs become AI-native businesses built on autonomous networks, composable IT and trusted AI. But the industry’s ambition depends on evidence-based assurance. Without it, operators cannot prove their autonomous networks are safe, their composable architectures are secure, or their AI-led decisions deliver reliable outcomes across the enterprise.

National regulators are also drafting stringent AI safety rules, forcing operators to close this gap. In Europe, the EU AI Act will require high-risk AI systems to meet audit and governance standards from August 2026, while the proposed Cloud and AI Development Act would introduce enforceable sovereignty assurance levels for public sector cloud and AI procurement. Encouragingly, the research shows that regulation can act as a readiness accelerator, adding operational pressure while strengthening AI risk posture in organizations that take governance seriously.

At DTW Ignite 2026, this shift from AI ambition to operational proof will be put to work across the Trustworthy AI and Data Summit. In the Mission Garage, delegates will see live demos, Catalyst projects and practical sessions focused on responsible AI, AI orchestration and assurance, agentic interaction security, MODaaS, data products and AI-native delivery. The goal is clear: help CSPs move beyond pilots and governance slides to production-ready AI that is auditable, interoperable and trusted at scale.

Read the full report

Read the related TM Forum leadership discussion paper on sovereign AI.

Katy Branson
TM Forum
kbranson@tmforum.org
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